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Revealed: Details of Ethiopian Airlines planned payout to victims’ families

By Amina Wako March 17th, 2019 1 min read

Details of how much families of the victims of the ill-fated Ethiopian Airlines plane which crashed a week ago will be compensated have been revealed.

According to the Sunday Nation, Ethiopian officials on Saturday stated that compensation will be dictated by international standards.

Families of the victims will receive between Sh17 million and Sh25 million for each life lost.

The exact amounts will vary according to age, profession and the victim’s position in life.

COMPENSATION

However, if investigations establish that airline was faulty at the time of the accident, then the amount could be more.

Lucas Nzioka, who lost a nephew, told the Sunday Nation that Ethiopian officials told family members during a closed-door session that compensation will be guided by the Montreal Convention.

“We were told it could be between $170,000 (Sh17 million-Sh25 million) and $250,000 depending on age, profession and so on. It should be done within 18 months,” Nzioka told the Sunday Nation.

PERSONAL EFFECTS

The Montreal Convention stipulates compensation arises only if a passenger’s injury or death is caused by an unexpected or unusual event or happening that is external to the passenger.

Personal effects of the deceased will be returned to the next of kin after verification within two months. The death certificates will also be processed and issued within the next two to eight weeks.

Ethiopian Airlines has offered the relatives of the 157 victims of last Sunday’s Boeing 737 Max plane crash bags of sand earth to bury in place of their loved ones. This is after the forensic expert said no bodies were retrieved from the scene of the crash.