Saturday marked 25 years since the tragedy of TWA Flight 800.

It was on July 17, 1996 when the Paris-bound flight exploded off Moriches Inlet, killing all 230 people on board.

Family members gathered at the memorial at Smith Point Park, where the names of the victims are forever etched in granite.

“I had no idea that 25 years later there would still be an open wound,” said John Seaman, who lost his niece, Michelle Jean Becker, on the flight. She was en route to a wedding in Paris.

The memorial is 19 years old and took nearly five years to construct. News 12’s Andrew Ehinger was there to speak to families about their lost loved ones.

For an in-depth look at the TWA Flight 800 – check out News 12’s special project.