Family Lays Crash Victims To Rest

A priest encouraged grieving friends and family members Saturday to hold on to their faith as they try to cope with the deaths of five family members in a plane crash in Colombia.

“People should look at their deaths as if they are on a long trip,” the the Rev. Charles Prats said. “We will someday be with them again.”

About 500 mourners filled Immaculate Conception Catholic Church with Colombian folk songs during the Mass for Nancy Dussan and her 12-year-old son, Gonzalo Jr., and their cousins, Luz Mary Claros and her children, Stephanie, 6, and Michael, 9.

There were only four caskets because Michael’s body has not been found following a week of intensive rescue efforts. His father, Edison Claros, said after the funeral that he was going back to Colombia to look for his son.

The five were among 160 people killed in the Dec. 20 mountainside crash of an airliner near Cali.