One year after the ill-fated Dana air crash in Iju, Ifako-Ijaye Local Council Development Area, LCDA, Federal and Lagos State governments, Monday, unveiled the cenotaph for victims at the crash site.
This came as the management of the airline said 23 families of the victims of the McDonnell Douglas MD-83 aircraft had been fully compensated with each receiving US$100,000.
Managing Director of the Dana Airline, Mr. Jackie Hathiramani, spoke at a procession that took off from the domestic terminal 2 and ended at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, headquarters in the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
He said the process of compensation was, however, slowed down due to incomplete documentation and multiple claims presented by some families.
He said: “By Friday of last week, over 23 of the families of the victims have been paid US$100,000 as full compensation, including ground victims; about three of them have been settled.
“The process slowed down due to incomplete documentation and multiple claims presented by most of the families of the victims.”
It would be recalled that the aircraft flying to Lagos from Abuja killed about 159 people on June 3, 2012, at Iju Ishaga, Lagos, where it crashed into a residential building.
However, while victims’ families complained of not being compensated as promised by the Dana Air, the residents complained about neglect and shoddy job by contractors, who handled the construction of the cenotaph and road project.
Meanwhile, speaking at the remembrance ceremony, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State said: “This cenotaph, which we are unveiling here today will ensure that their memories never die.”
Speaking on behalf the Federal Government, Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah, assured that the ministry had implemented policies to ensure that similar disaster did not happen again.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. George Efunaosi, she said: “I am personally touched by the event of today.
“I wish to assure Nigerians that the Ministry of Aviation is making frantic efforts to ensure that the country doesn’t experience any plane crash again.
“The ministry has instituted security programmes to ensure that all the operators in the country adhere to the international rules and regulation guiding the aviation industry.”
Mr. Steven Abuyere, one of the victims’ family member, lamented that her mother’s name was missing on the list engraved on the memorial tomb.
He said: “Rather than my mother’s name, the government pasted the name of another person who is still alive. I stand before you today, united with you in remembrance of your loved ones and united in our collective desire to pay our respects to their memories. And there are no words that can reliably convey the depth of our heartache. This is because, we remember not only one moment of tragedy, but 157 (153 on board and four ground victims) lives of great promise and achievement.”
He said the state spent N22 million on the DNA aimed at identifying each of the 157 victims of the ill-fated flight, saying “we have learnt some painful lessons from the crash and we have grown from them. We have now improved our response capacity, trained and continue to re-train our first responders, develop response protocols and acquired necessary equipment. The entire incident is properly documented for posterity, with copies in the Attorney General’s office and the Governor’s office, with details of what we did well and what we could have done better to avoid our past mistakes.” Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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