Ethiopian officials on Saturday refused to give any figures to affected families on what exactly to expect in compensation, only stating that it will be dictated by “international standards”.
Families of the victims of the Ethiopian plane crash started to return home on Saturday as it emerged that they could receive between Sh17 million and Sh25 million for each person lost.
The exact amounts will vary due to factors such as age, profession and their position in life.
The amount could be more depending on the findings of ongoing investigation, especially if it is established that the airline was indeed at fault.
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 and $250,000 depending on age, profession and so on. It should be done within 18 months,” Nzioka said.
Personal effects of the deceased as well as death certificates will be processed and issued to the next of kin within the next two to eight weeks.
“When one of us asked how much we shall be given as compensation at our meeting, the airline official did not give any figure but just told us it will be in line with international standards of compensation. I do not know how much that is at the moment,” Mr Kariuki Munyi, who lost his daughter said.
The Montreal Convention says 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.
The Ethiopian flight ET 302 crashed last Sunday killing all the 157 passengers and crew on board. There were 32 Kenyans aboard the ill-fated plane believed to have been brought down by malfunctioning of the flight control system in the highest selling Boeing 737 Max 8 jetliner.
The Montreal Convention anticipates two scenarios. The first provides for a minimum compensation that every passenger must be compensated as long as they were injured or died while on the plane. Currently, this amount is at about $170,000 (Sh170,000) per passenger.
The compensation process begins after identification of the victim is done. But since identification of bodies is going to be a nightmare for forensic experts given that there is no body retrieved from the crash scene, this is likely to take a while.