Sound clip: sinking of the Rainbow Warrior

Sound clip: Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, 1985

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Transcript of this file

Man: Somebody blew up our boat. They ripped her guts out and killed one of our crew. I feel like someone had ripped some of my guts out in the process. I and the rest of Greenpeace will not rest until she or her successor is sailing again.

Second man: Well I just lost a good friend, and now I have to go to the morgue to identify him, so I guess that says it.

Female announcer: Explosions rang out from the 40-metre ship at around midnight and the crew scrambled to get off the vessel to safety as she began going under, but one crew member was caught below decks, and police recovered his body this morning. Stunned Greenpeace people say the vessel was priceless, but right now they are still mourning for their dead colleague who went down with the vessel.

Man: All we know is that between the first and second explosions he went back on board, presumably to retrieve his camera gear, and he never made it out.

Male announcer : Rainbow Warrior didn't go to a warrior's death; she sank in her sleep just after midnight, tied up at an Auckland wharf. It's a tragic end to what was probably the world's number one peace vessel, small as she was. In recent months, Rainbow Warrior has plied from Pacific island to Pacific island, moving people from the ravages of the troubled years we live in. What blew her up and killed a man of peace?

Man: I'd say half of the world leaders of Greenpeace are in New Zealand at the moment.

Interviewer: So the one big question mark in your mind at the moment is?

Man: Is, what happened on the boat last night? Is it an accident, or was it not an accident?