The Attorney General’s office has been in contact with relatives of the 50 victims of the 1979 Whiddy Island Betelgeuse tanker explosion amid calls for a new inquest.
As The Irish Independent reports, the Attorney General’s office has written to the French-Irish Association of Relatives and Friends of the Betelgeuse (FIARFB).
It is understood that it is seeking clarification about documentation and further details of potential new witnesses and new information that arose after the original inquests on July 12th, 1979.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed to maritime lawyer Michael Kingston and FIARFB last year that he was forwarding all documentation about requests for new inquests to the Attorney General’s Office.
Mr Kingston lost his father Tim in the disaster 45 years ago, when the oil tanker Betelgeuse caught fire and exploded at Whiddy island in Bantry Bay, west Cork, on January 8th, 1979.
The newspaper reports that a formal review of the evidence is now underway to determine if a new inquest or new inquiries are justified.
Mr Kingston has been able to inspect the original inquest files after a lengthy campaign and said the case for new inquests was overwhelming.
Read The Irish Independent here