Wednesday, May 25 2005 08:12 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Ottawa: The Canadian Government will help pay to fly family members of victims of the 1985 Air India bombing to Ireland for 20th anniversary memorial services next month.

Two relatives of each victim will be offered a subsidy of Canadian $ 2,500 ($ 1,986) apiece, a spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan said.

Several families are expected to attend.

The Air India jet blew up over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Ireland, on June 23, 1985 killing all 329 people on board.

The Canadian Government has been under pressure to call a judicial inquiry after two Sikh men were acquitted in March of plotting one of the world's worst aviation attacks. At the end of April, it appointed an expert to review the case before making a decision.

Relatives of the victims, security experts and opposition lawmakers want to know how two suitcase bombs were loaded onto planes in the west coast city of Vancouver and checked through to connect with two Air India flights.

The first bomb blew up at Narita, Japan, killing two baggage handlers as they transferred it to an Air India flight. Less than one hour later, the second bomb killed 329 people, mostly Canadians, as it tore through Air India Flight 182 off the coast of Ireland.