Air India Announces Interim Compensation for Mangalore Air Tragedy Victims

(PIB NEWS) The CMD of Air India, Shri Arvind Jadhav addressed a press conference at Mangalore today. Expressing grief and regret at the unfortunate accident of Air India Express flight IX-812, he said Air India team is working round the clock without a break and is committed to provide all assistance to the family members of the passengers as well as the crew. Mr. Jadhav announced Interim Compensation from Air India of Rs 10 Lakhs for passengers above the age of 12; Rs 5 Lakhs to passengers below the age of 12 and Rs 2 Lakhs for every injured passenger. This is subject to execution of appropriate documentation. This Interim compensation will be taken into account and adjusted against the final compensation to be assessed. The Insurance Companies have agreed to it. This compensation is over and above the ex-gratia payment announced by the Prime Minister.Mr.Jadhav also announced that the Air India Flight Safety Team along with DGCA has commenced the investigation process. He said, an international reputed Emergency Response company called M/s Kenyon has arrived in India and will be available for providing necessary support. The bodies of the First Officer Capt. Ahluwalia and one of the cabin crew Ms. Tejpal have been flown from Mangalore to Mumbai. He also told the media present that we are in touch with the family of the Commander Capt. Glusica and are making necessary arrangements for flying his body to his home country which is Serbia. Special assistance teams called Angels of Air India are working at Mangalore and other locations supporting all the family members, making their travel arrangements, taking care of their every need. One Angel of Air India has been assigned to each survivor and to the families of the deceased to assist them in any possible way. Mr. Jadhav said “As a national carrier, we definitely Care and will do everything to support the family members.” Counseling sessions have been planned for the family members as well as the crew members. There were 160 passengers and six crew members on board. There are eight survivors and the remaining 158 bodies have been recovered from the site. 128 bodies have been identified and returned to the family members
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UN agency to host global telecom meet in Hyderabad from Monday

Over 700 delegates from across the globe will converge here for the fifth Telecom Development Conference May 24-June 4 to set the agenda for pushing the advancement of information and communications technology sector for the next four years.Organised by the 145-year-old International Telecommunication Union, the event is drawing experts, policy makers and executives from several of the organisation’s 191 member countries and expected to adopt what is being called the Hyderabad Action Plan.This action plan, according to the organisation’s secretariat, speaks of the strategies to bring the benefits of information and communications technology to all communities in all regions of the world.This is the first time the event is being hosted in India — the fastest growing telecom market with over 600 million subscribers with the network that is growing by 20 million new users a month. The event was first held at Buenos Aires in 1994.As part of the massive security arrangements for the conference, the Cyberabad police Sunday took control of the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) located in Hitec City, the IT district.According to Geneva-based ITU, the conference will focus on the strategy for the growth of ICT and will adopt strategies to bring the benefits of ICT to all communities in all regions of the world.Some of the issues that will be discussed at the event include broadband connectivity, digital broadcasting, open source software, cyber security, e-accessibility for people with disabilities, e-applications, emergency communications, policy and regulation.A World Telecommunication Development Report will be released on May 25. Three ITU case studies will be released the next day, the organisers said. Minister of Communications and Information Technology A. Raja will lead the Indian team at the conference.ITU’s membership includes 191 member states and more than 700 sector-members and associates.
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Air India to give Rs.10 lakh interim relief to crash victims

Air India Sunday said it would give Rs.10 lakh each to the families of those aged 12 years and above killed in the Mangalore crash and Rs.5 lakh to those below 12.This is an interim monetary relief pending the finalisation of full compensation, Air India head Arvind Jadhav said.He also said that Rs.200,000 will be given to each injured in Saturday’s plane crash in Mangalore, in which 158 people were killed. Only eight passengers survived the air disaster, the country’s worst in a decade.“This (the compensation) is over and above the ex gratia relief announced by Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh),” Jadhav told reporters.He said the interim relief was decided after Air India held talks with an insurance company. “Finalising the rest of the compensation will take time and that compensation will be adjusted with the interim compensation,” he noted.The Air India chief managing director said that any dispute related to claiming of the compensation will be settled with the local administration.Jadhav appealed to the media to observe restraint and not speculate about the causes that led to the IX 812 Dubai-Mangalore flight to crash.“Speculations will hinder (the compensation process). It will have international ramifications. This is a tragic incident,” he said.Asked about the initial probe report if any, Jadhav said he was here to attend to the families of the victims and ensure they get proper response from the airline.“I have interacted with the injured. We have a response team and they will act as counsellors. My heart goes out to them (families of the victims),” he added.
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Around 130 crash victims identified, 20 may need DNA tests

The bodies of around 130 victims of Saturday’s plane crash in Mangalore have been identified and were being handed over to their relatives after autopsies, while a forensic team arrived from Hyderabad to conduct DNA tests to identify bodies charred beyond recognition, officials said Sunday.

“Around 130 bodies have been identified so far and will be handed over to the family members after post-mortem examination,” R. Rajesh, deputy superintendent of police here, said.“We are hopeful another seven to eight bodies will be identified by the family members while DNA test may become necessary to identify around 20 victims,” he added.Sources at the the Government Wenlock Hospital in Mangalore said the number of bodies to be identified with DNA tests was still not clear as relatives and friends of the victims continued their efforts to try and recognise their near and dear ones at the hospital’s mortuary.Heart-rending scenes were witnessed at the hospital as grieving relatives and friends had to go through the traumatic experience of looking at scores of badly burnt bodies to identify them, while doctors frantically conducted autopsies on the bodies as and when their identity was established.With the number of identified bodies increasing by the hour, the staff were racing against time to complete the post-mortem examinations before the bodies started decomposing.Most of the relatives of the victims were too numbed to talk and preferred to be left alone to grieve their loss privately and get over the trauma of seeing the charred remains of their loved ones.“We expect to complete the process of handing over the identified bodies to the relatives by late Sunday,” Rajesh said.Among the 158 dead were 19 children and four infants.All eight survivors of the crash, being treated at various hospitals in the city, were out of danger. Most of them had suffered cuts, bruises or minor burn injuries.An Air India spokesman in Mumbai said the process of identifying and handing over bodies was under way. He added that Air India has assigned a member of the Special Assistance Team and Angels of Air India team to each of the survivors and families of victims to assist them in all possible ways.The airline will also operate additional special flights to ferry families of the victims to Mangalore, the spokesman said.The IX 812 Dubai-Mangalore flight overshot the runway while landing at the Bajpe airport, about 20 km from Mangalore, early Saturday and caught fire after plunging about 300 metres off a cliff.All passengers were Indians, many returning home from Dubai where they worked.
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Hunt still on for black box of crashed aircraft: Air India

Over 30 hours after the Mangalore air accident, the black box of the ill-fated Boeing 737-800 aircraft was yet to be recovered from its charred debris, delaying the probe into the possible cause of the mishap that claimed 158 lives.“Efforts are on to retrieve the black box which would throw light into the accident for the investigators, ”said Air India general manager Harpreet A.D. Singh, who is currently the emergency coordinator.According to aviation industry experts, a black box is actually a loose term used for at least two crucial equipment — the digital cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder — which give crucial inputs to investigators on the causes of air mishaps.A sturdy system the size of shoe boxes, they can withstand extreme temperatures. The system records conversations inside the cockpit and those with air traffic controllers, among its other uses, and gives vital clues to the cause of any air disaster.Singh told reporters here that the Air India’s top priority was to coordinate relief measures for the families of the victims, complete the identification process and hand over the bodies.With the help of the central government, three-days’ interim visas will be issued to the relatives coming from abroad to claim the bodies of kin who perished in the air accident, she said.So far, AI has identified and handed over bodies of 87 victims to their relatives and the process to identify the rest with the help of a forensic team is underway, she added.In view of the massive tragedy that struck the airline, top officials have worked round the clock to ensure that the survivors and victims get all possible help and assistance.Air India chairman and managing director Arvind Jadhav has been at the site of the crash, visiting the hospitals, co-ordinating the relief and support measures, along with officials from multiple agencies and consoling relatives of victims.Meanwhile, the bodies of Mumbai-based co-pilot Capt. H.S. Ahluwalia and Thane’s airhostess Tejal Kamulkar have been identified.Tejal’s body is expected to reach Mumbai later Sunday and shall be taken to her home in Dombivli town in Thane district for the last rites, a family source said.AI will also operate additional special flights to ferry the families of the victims to Mangalore, complete the relevant formalities and other requirements.Air India Express Boeing 737-800 Dubai-Mangalore flight IX-812 met with an accident shortly after landing at Mangalore Airport Saturday morning.There were 160 passengers and six crew members on board. Of these, 158 lost their lives and eight passengers had a miraculous escape.
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158 bodies recovered from Air India crash site

Air India said late Saturday that 158 people were killed in the Air India Express crash at Mangalore airport and all the bodies have been recovered.

“There were 160 passengers and six crew members on board. There are eight survivors reported so far and they are under proper care in hospitals,” Air India said in a statement. It had earlier in the day released the names of seven survivors.It did not give the name of the eighth survivor.After the recovery of all 158 bodies by late Saturday, more than 80 of them charred beyond recognition, search for the black box and cockpit voice recorder was suspended. It will resume Sunday, police and rescue officials said.All the bodies have been kept at the government-run Wenlock hospital here where weeping relatives and friends were making desperate efforts to identify the bodies.
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Boeing, US aviation officials to assist Air India crash probe

Officials from Boeing and the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will visit India to provide technical assistance to investigators after an Air India Express Boeing 737 crashed in Mangalore killing 159 people, officials said.Officials in the civil aviation ministry here said it was obligatory for NTSB to assist in air crash investigations in foreign countries if the aircraft in question, or a part, is made in the US, has the country’s registry, or was deployed by an American operator.The agency has so far participated in 40 overseas investigations in the past two years, including the one at Tripoli May 12 that killed 103 people, with one child miraculously escaping.That aircraft was a Airbus A330-200 fitted with the US-made General Electric engines.“Boeing is sending a team to provide technical assistance to the investigation at the invitation of the Indian authorities,” the company said in a statement soon after the news of the crash spread.The aircraft flown by Air India Express from Dubai to Mangalore that crashed was a two-and-a-half-year-old Boeing 737-800. It carried 166 people, including 19 children and four infants.This specific make of the aircraft entered into service in 1998 with a capacity for 162 passengers in a two-class layout, or 189 in one class.Saturday’s crash took place at the Bajpe airstrip, about 30 km from Mangalore — a hilly area that is considered one of the most difficult airports to take off and land.“The aircraft touched down on runway 24 slightly beyond the touchdown zone, overshot the runway and went into the valley beyond the runway,” the civil aviation ministry said.
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