Survivors may get Dh200,000 in damages

The three survivors of the Kish Air crash in Sharjah will be offered the same compensation amount of about Dh200,000 each which is being offered to the victims' families, an executive from the airline indicated.

The final amount of compensation, however, will be based on the doctors' report, he said.
The total settlement amount will be in the range of Dh8.6 million. The official said the compensation amount will be known within the next week.

"Nothing is clear so far," said a Kish Airline spokesman. The amount could depend on whether they have lifelong disabilities.

He also denied that families of the victims are contesting the initial figure of about Dh200,000 each for the 46 victims, including the three crew members. But according to reports the families of the Filipino victims are not happy with the amount.

The official said the amount is the normal cost claim and is in line with the UAE and Iranian laws. It will take about a month for the money to be disbursed by the insurance company as lot of paper work is involved.

Meanwhile, the airline has suspended the 'visa change' flights from Sharjah since the crash near the Sharjah International Airport last month and it seems unlikely it will resume its operations in the future.

The Sharjah Airport Authority is against the so-called visa-change flights because it creates a logjam of passengers at the airport, many of whom go to nearby capitals and come back and wait for the visa to arrive.

"The passenger load has indeed gone down," the spokesman admitted, but added the airline is still operating flights to Bandar Abbas from Sharjah with its Fokker 50s. The 'visa change' flights from Dubai still continue with around three flights every day. Earlier, the airline used to run four flights daily for the 40-minute trip.

Before the crash, Kish Airline used to transport about 700 people to and from Kish every day.
Anyone who enters the Iranian island is granted a visa at the airport, unlike the UAE which grants it to citizens from certain countries such as Australia, the US, the UK, Canada, France, Germany and Italy.

Two survivors still undergoing treatment

Meanwhile, Mohammed Sobhy, the Egyptian survivor, is still unconscious and his next of kin have yet to be traced, according to an airline executive.

The man had sustained serious head injuries and had a broken leg when he was pulled out from the debris of the aircraft. Apparently the man's travel documents have not been found. He is still in the intensive care unit of Al Qasimi Hospital. The three other Egyptians who died in the crash were earlier identified by relatives.

Navid Khodaverdian, the Iranian survivor, was recently flown to Iran for further treatment. His wife and his 15-month old daughter died in the crash. George Cruz, the Filipino survivor, is also still in Al Qasimi Hospital and his wife and daughter are also reportedly with him.