By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Survivors, members of victims' families and German leaders paused Thursday to remember the 70 people who lost their lives 20 years ago when an Italian flying squadron crashed into the crowd at an air show on the US Air base in Ramstein.
The disaster, which left hundreds of the 350,000 spectators that day severely injured, forced German authorities and US military officials to increase cooperation between their emergency services.
"Still, a feeling of powerlessness remains," said Governor Kurt Beck in a memorial service held in the state capital of Rhineland-Palatinate, where Ramstein is located.
Further memorial services planned for later Thursday included a wreath-laying at the site of the crash and an ecumenical service at a nearby church.