PARIS, June 19 (RIA Novosti) - Air France will pay an initial 17,500 euros ($24,000) to relatives of every victim of the Flight 447 crash, the airline's CEO said on Friday.
The Airbus A330 bound from Rio de Janeiro to Paris disappeared on June 1 off Brazil's northeast coast four hours after it took off with 228 people on board. Fifty bodies have been recovered.
"We are going to be very focused on the first advance of about 17,500 euro that is paid for each victim," Phillipe Gourgeon said.
The passengers were from 32 countries, and it has been difficult for Air France lawyers to contact their families. However, the airline's chief executive assured reporters that everything would be done to make sure they receive the compensation.
Gourgeon also said his company was considering holding a memorial for all the victims of the May 31 crash.
Though the cause of the crash has not been established yet, injuries found during autopsies performed on bodies recovered from the crash suggest the plane could have broken up in midair.
The head of the French agency investigating air crashes (BEA) said Wednesday that it is unlikely that the entire A330 will be recovered from the Atlantic Ocean, but everything was being done to determine the cause of the accident.
