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Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing Trial: Witnesses Testify About Crash that Killed 270

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: To the Netherlands now, it is day two of the trial of two Libyans accused of terrorism in the 1988 attack against Pan Am Flight 103 today. Today, witnesses testified about the crash that killed 270 people.

CNN's Colleen McEdwards has details.

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COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The prosecution focused on the night of December 21, 1988, the quiet hours before the chaos when Pan Am Flight 103 fell apart over Lockerbie.

One witness sees a white light in the sky falling in an arc, hitting the ground, launching flames in a V shape. Another man hears a thunderous noise. Sees the silhouette of a falling wing, no fuselage attached. Then others who told of the fire on the ground.

DANIEL COHEN, PARENT OF VICTIM: I was sort of struck by the people. These are really good people, you know, ordinary people, I guess. And it's terrible. It's terrible what happened to them.

MCEDWARDS: Families of the crash victims were in court once again, and family members of the two accused Libyans. The prosecution accuses them of planting a bomb in a suitcase. They've pleaded not guilty and plan to implicate others in their defense.

Also in court to watch a lawyer for the families representing them in a lawsuit against Libya.

JIM KREINDLER, LAWYER FOR FAMILIES: What we're trying to do is get Libya to pay compensation to the victims' families for its actions.

MCEDWARDS (on camera): But any future proceedings would depend on the outcome of the Lockerbie trial. With more than 1,000 potential witnesses listed, it's expected to take more than a year to complete.

Colleen McEdwards, CNN, Camp Zeist, the Netherlands.

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