Compensation deal
January 27, 2012
Owners of the shipwrecked Costa Concordia are to pay passengers 11,000 euros ($14,400) in compensation for the disaster, a consumer advocacy group said Friday.
"This deal concerns some 3,000 passengers from 60 countries, including some 900 Italians," said Adoc, one of multiple consumers' rights groups that negotiated the deal.
The sum was to cover any lost items and psychological damage passengers may have suffered. It would cover passengers who did not suffer physical injury while evacuating the ship after the January 13 accident, while those injured would be dealt with on an individual basis.
"It's a landmark agreement to bring an end to a tragic affair," said Adoc President Carlo Pileri. "It's a democratic agreement that does not distinguish between social classes or countries of origin."
Costa Crociere, the ship's owner, said it would also reimburse passengers for travel expenses and medical costs.
Sixteen people have been confirmed dead since the cruise liner hit a reef off the Italian island of Giglio in Tuscany. Another 16 are still missing.
The ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, is accused of causing the accident by veering too close to shore. He is currently under house arrest pending charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship before all passengers were evacuated.
Author: Andrew Bowen (AFP, AP, dpa)
Editor: Martin Kuebler