AI announces Rs 10 lakh compensation for crash victims

AI announces Rs 10 lakh compensation for crash victims

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, May 24: Arvind Jadhav, the chairman and managing director of Air India, announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh per head for the families of plane crash victims above the age of 12. Previously, the prime minister had also announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured. 

Jadhav said that AI’s insurance companies GIC and Reliance have agreed to provide the insurance amount. AI also announced an interim insurance of Rs 10 lakh each for the families of victims above age 12 in addition to Rs 2 lakh for the injured. The compensation is as per the carriage deal announced by Praful Patel, the Union Civil Aviation Minister, on Saturday. The prime minister’s compensation is different and doesn’t come under AI compensation, he said. 

Those eligible must file claims using the correct procedure, failing which court procedure will be required, which will make things very difficult. Families of the victims must provide the victim’s post mortem report, passport details, and legal documents of travel on the aircraft. Requesting the authorities not the hurry the identification procedures, he said that tedious legal procedures will be required to correct any errors.

Expressing his sorrow over the accident, he said that AI regrets the air tragedy and has been working for 24 hours. An AI team called “Angels of Air India” is in constant touch with the victim’s families, helping them sort out legal issues. They have voluntarily offered their assistance. Even the members of the AI staff, who have lost their loved ones, are working for the welfare of the victims’ families, he disclosed. 

Requesting the media to avoid speculating, he said that the “tragedy must be handled carefully” because speculations tend to hurt people any more. He also said that only 12 bodies remain to be identified.

 
Expressing his appreciation of the selfless attitude of the local people, who assisted the authorities in carrying out the rescue operations, he thanked them all. He also expressed his gratitude for NGO ambulances, students, doctors, and the local people of Mangalore for helping out, adding that only local help could help them recover all the bodies in “record time.” Stating that the local and state rescue teams acted quickly, he explained that they had not only helped at the site of the crash, but also helped transport the bodies to the hospitals. 

He announced that Air India has arranged a special flight to take the family members and relatives of the crash victims to their home cities such as Kozikhode and Cochin. He also announced the formation of emergency response teams to counsel the families of the victims and to provide the required moral support. AI is also bearing the hospital expenses completely. Stating that whatever AI does, it cannot eliminate the pain of the loss of a loved one, he expressed his heartfelt sympathies to the family members, friends, and relatives of the victims. 

Urging the media to allow the families of the victims to cope with the situation, he said that this is a “human” and not a “machine” issue. A number of counseling centres have been established by AI in Mumbai, Delhi, Cochin, Mangalore, and Kozhikode to help the families of the victims as well as the staff of AI to heal.