As the 30 days stipulated by law for the beneficiaries of
those who lost their lives in the ill-fated Dana Air aircraft to get the first
tranche of payment ($30,000), approaches the airline said only 34 families out
of the 127 that have been contacted, have duly completed and submitted their
claims' forms.
The Dana
aircraft, MD-83 crashed on June 3 killing all 153 people onboard and some 10
others on the ground. Dana Air insurers have nine more days to commence payment
or fall faul of the law.
Dana Air said
in a statement that "as of the close of business on Monday, June 25, the
company had received completed insurance forms for 34 of the victims, 2 of
which are our staff members."
The statement
said: "The company has now made direct contact with 118 families who lost
loved ones in the accident and has also made contact with the 9 embassies
managing communications with the families of those victims from other
countries.
"These
families and embassies have been sent letters of condolence and the insurance
documentation necessary in order to facilitate compensation payments."
The
documentation is necessary for the right beneficiaries to be paid the
compensations, Dana Air said.
The statement
also said investigations into the cause of the accident are still ongoing and
Dana Air continues to offer every form of assistance to the investigating
authorities.
On the DNA
tests, it said, as per last update on Friday, June 22, 98 percent of DNA
samples had been successfully collected and dispatched to a UK laboratory for
testing.
The statement
also debunked claims that some of its staff have left their jobs.
It said:
"Dana Air would like to respond to media coverage suggesting that
expatriate staff of the airline have left the company's employment since the
accident. Of the over 450 staff of the airline, most of whom are Nigerians, not
one has left the company's employment.
"Dana Air
is committed to finding out the cause of the unfortunate accident and some of
our expatriate staff are among the airline's officials currently assisting the
investigating authorities in this regard.
"All Dana
Air staff are voluntarily assisting in one way or the other, especially with
respect to visiting the affected families and providing information on
processing of insurance claims."