Lockerbie: Town of unwanted fame

LOCKERBIE, Scotland -- The residents of Lockerbie are being forced to relive the night their village was given global status with a branding of fire, death and destruction.

One of the Libyans accused of murdering 270 people in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing was found guilty of murder on Wednesday. The second defendant was found not guilty.

Twelve years after the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing in which 170 people were killed, the night death rained down on Lockerbie remains a vivid memory for Marjory McQueen.

McQueen, one of the town's two councillors, has since become a voice for the small community near the Scottish-English border which she says "did not choose to be famous."

AUDIO CNN's Walter Rodgers on a collective sigh of relief in Lockerbie 441K/40 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

She and the 3,500 other townsfolk were attempting to go about their business as normal -- but aware that once again Lockerbie is a name echoing around the world.

"It is a very strange thing, but there is not the depth of feeling you would expect in the town about the result of this trial," she said.

The villagers heard what many thought was a thunderstorm -- but it got louder and nearer, until the Boeing 747 smashed into the ground at 7.03 in the evening, killing 11 residents as well as the 259 people on board.

The cockpit section came down about five miles out of town, near a country church and graveyard. The fuselage hit the Rosebank neighbourhood on the northern edge of town.

The wing section -- laden with burning fuel -- fell on a district called Sherwood.

In the wake of the catastrophe, Lockerbie's town hall and its ice rink were pressed into service as a temporary mortuary. Searchers and investigators descended on the town to mount a massive search covering hundreds of square miles.

Only one relative of those killed in Lockerbie itself still lives in the village. All the others have moved away to escape the nightmares.

In the years since the disaster, Lockerbie has tried to move on. The 10th anniversary of the crash, in 1998, was commemorated with only a simple memorial service.

Now there is a remembrance garden: "You are almost moved to tears," said CNN's Senior International Correspondent Walter Rodgers.

Relatives of those killed in the crash were touched by the kindness of townspeople.

Volunteers worked for months to sort and launder clothing recovered from the wreckage and return it to relatives. Local people would also guide the bereaved to the spot where their loved one's body fell.

McQueen said: "Lockerbie has never involved itself in the politics and the legal machinations that have gone on over the last 12 years.

"We have been a community that has come to grips with what has happened. It is not callous. Our thoughts at the moment are with the relatives."

It was an event that brought the town a fame it did not choose, but which allowed it to show a dignity and compassion which has become its hallmark. "You cannot get over it," she said.

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January 29, 2001
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January 20, 2001
Defense points to Palestinian group in closing arguments of Lockerbie bombing trial
January 11, 2001
Lockerbie judges reject acquittal plea
November 29, 2000
Libyan agent denies bomb link
November 16, 2000

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