FAMILIES OF TU-154 PLANE CRASH VICTIMS TO RECEIVE 32 THOUSAND EURO INSURANCE PAYMENT EACH

Noyan Tapan
July 17, 2009

YEREVAN, JULY 17, NOYAN TAPAN. At the beggining of the July 16 sitting,
the members of the Armenian government observed a minute of silence
in memory of those who died in the crash of Tu-154 plane bound for
Yerevan from Tehran on July 15.

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said that by instruction of the Armenian
president, an operative staff was set up. It is headed by Deputy Prime
Minister Armen Gevorgian and has already held several sittings with
the aim of dealing with issues related to transportation of victims’
relatives to the crash site, funeral expenses, provision of insurance
payments, etc.

Head of the Civil Aviation Department Artyom Movsesian announced
that the list of the passengers on board the crashed plane has been
completely clarified: there were 36 Armenians on board, including 5
Armenian citizens: 3 passengers and 2 aircraft mechanics. The plane
was carrying 4 children, one of whom was an Armenian. Two of the
plane’s three black boxes have already been recovered and sent to
Tehran. According to A. Movsesian, if the black boxes are not damaged,
they will be analyzed in Iran, while in case of being damaged, they
will be sent to an expert group in Moscow for analysis.

He said that in connection with the crash 11 commissions have been
formed in Tehran. Besides, cooperation has been established with
the Interstate Aviation Committee. A. Movsesian stated that Armenia
is ready to provide assistance as the country’s civil aviation
has highly-qualified staff with considerable experience of Tu-154
aircraft operation.

A. Movsesian said that a special plane would come from Iran to Armenia
on the same day to carry victims’ relatives – 51 people to Tehran. In
his words, Caspian Airlines which operated the flight will cover
all the expenses on the funerals of the crash victims. The airline
intends to give an insurance payment of 32 thousand euros to each
victim’s family. For some persons, this payment will amount to 42
thousand euros.