KARACHI: The government on Saturday announced compensation for the families of those who were aboard the ill-fated Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight that crashed into a residential area near Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport a day ago, killing 97 of 99 people onboard.
Speaking to the media in Karachi, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said that families of those who were killed would receive Rs1 million each while the two survivors would be given Rs500,000 each.
Khan also announced that the government would offer compensation to the residents of the area whose houses and cars have been affected. “A lot of damage has been done. We have directed that an initial survey be carried out and the government will pay for the damages after the assessment has been done,” he said.
The minister said that the government’s first priority was to hand over the bodies of the victims to their families after identification. He expressed grief over the tragic incident and offered condolences to the families of those who died.
He paid tribute to the “spirit of the people of Karachi”, who he said had participated keenly in the rescue work. He also paid tribute to the pilot, saying that video footage showed he had “tried his best to reach the runway but when he saw it was impossible, he diverted the craft to an area where there would be minimum damage”.
