57 families of Dana plane crash victims to get initial payments soon

The management of Dana Air has said that initial payments will soon be made to about 57 families of the victims of the Dana plane crash which occurred on June 3, 2012 by the insurers that insured the flight.
In a statement by the company, only 57 families out of the 120 of the victims involved in the accident have sent in completed forms for compensation.
The company said “As of the Close of business on Friday, June 29, the company had received completed insurance forms for 57 of the victims, 4 of which are our staff members. These forms have been forwarded to our insurers for processing, and initial payments should be made to as many families shortly.”
“The airline is also calling on all families who are yet to come forward with the necessary documentation to please do so, in order for us to promptly fulfill our obligation to them,” the statement said.
The statement also said “Dana Air has now made direct contact with 119 of the 120 families who lost loved ones in the accident and have also made contact with the 9 embassies managing communications with the families of foreign nationals involved.”
It will be recalled that the House of Representatives issued an ultimatum for payment of benefits to be made to all the families who lost loved ones in the ill-fated flight by July 3, 2012.
Dana Air said that it is fully aware of the mandatory requirement by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), for interim benefits to be paid to the families of the victims within 30 days of the accident.
“The airline has since set machinery in motion to ensure that compensation is fully and duly paid. Teams comprising staff of Dana Air, counsellors and clergy have been visiting the affected families to condole with them and also to provide information on claims administration and payment.
To facilitate the payment process, Dana Air had deployed 3 dedicated toll-free lines, manned by trained personnel, to a Crisis Management Centre in Lagos and Abuja, and public announcements were made in the national dailies and local radio requesting affected families to come forward with details of the Next-Of-Kin, especially those whom the company had difficulty reaching. The airline will continue to provide these services until all claims have been addressed and settled,” the statement said.
According to the company, “Dana Air appreciates that the statutory payments cannot compensate for any of the precious lives lost in the accident but we hope that it will lessen the pains of the families knowing that they are not alone in these extremely difficult times. Dana Air is maintaining contact with all the families, and will continue to offer all necessary assistance to them.”