Iran agrees to pay relatives compensation for victims of downed plane

Iran on Wednesday said it would be prepared to pay compensation to the relatives of those killed when a Ukrainian passenger plane was mistakenly shot down by its air defence force.

Iran is willing to pay 150,000 dollars to the family of each of the 176 victims, the state news agency IRNA reported.

The amount should be paid “immediately,” according to the legal department of the Presidential Office, though IRNA did not name an exact date.

The announcement comes almost a year since the Ukrainian Boeing aircraft was shot down on 8 January shortly after taking off from Tehran, killing all 176 people on board.

Iran admitted having shot down the plane only after a delay. In mid-July, the country’s aviation authority spoke of a “human error” in its final report.

The victims came from Ukraine, Iran, Canada, Afghanistan, Britain and Sweden.

Source : Foreigner News