YEREVAN/SOCHI, May 3 (RIA Novosti) - A decision on compensation following the deaths of all passengers of an Armenian Armavia Airlines plane that crashed over the Black Sea will be reached after an investigation, the airline said Wednesday.
All the 113 passengers and crew are presumed dead after an Airbus plane flying from the Armenian capital, Yerevan, to an airport servicing the popular Russian resort of Sochi disappeared from radar screens at 2:15 a.m. local time (Tuesday 10:15 p.m. GMT).
Independent experts appointed by insurers are assessing the level and procedures for compensation payouts, Armavia Airlines said.
"All passengers of the crashed A-320 airliner were insured in accordance with international regulations and standards. Risks were reinsured on the international market," an airline source said, adding that the airline would announce the final details as soon as possible.
Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin is currently meeting with Armenian Defense Minister Serzh Sargsyan at Adler Airport, which services Sochi. A crisis center has been set up there.
Eighty-six relatives of the victims have arrived at Adler, and a further 120 are expected soon.
The airline said, "On arrival, everyone is being put in hotels in the city, and is being brought food. Where necessary, they are being provided with medical and psychological help."
The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said bad weather was most likely to blame for the loss of the A-320.
Medical aid is also being provided to families of victims staying at Yerevan's Zvartnots airport while the bodies of their relatives are being recovered from the sea, airport doctor Lyudmila Avakyan said.
May 5 and 6 have been declared mourning days in Armenia, and May 5 in Russia.
