Families of Britain's 9/11 Victims to Receive 1 Million Compensation

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, June 24, 2002

Families of Britain's 9/11 Victims to Receive 1 Million Compensation

Families of the 67 British people killed in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11 last year are to be offered average compensation payments of about 1 millionU.S. dollars.

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Families of the 67 British people killed in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11 last year are to be offered average compensation payments of about 1 millionU.S. dollars.

But the lawyer heading the official 9/11 Compensation Fund saidthose who accept the deal would have to waive the right to make other claims against the U.S. government, the airlines and insurers.

Kenneth Feinberg, from the U.S. Department of Justice, said in London that the deal was identical to the one being offered to families of the American victims.

Ahead of a meeting with the British families on Saturday, whichis thought to be the first outside the United States, Feinberg said the deal was open until December 2003 - to give them time to consider their options.

An initial compensation payment will be calculated and any lifeinsurance the families received will be deducted from the figure.

When explaining the conditions, Feinberg said: "The only law suit they do not give up is law suits brought against Bin Laden, the terrorists, nations harboring terrorism -- that they could continue to pursue. All other law suits would be extinguished if they elect to take this plan."

Feinberg said only one or two British families had accepted thedeal so far.

He said compensation payments would not be affected by charitable donations any of the families have been given. More than 1.3 billion dollars have been raised for the families from private sources since September 11, of which more than half has been distributed.

The 9/11 Compensation Fund was set up by the U.S. Congress to compensate any individual who was physically injured by the attacks, and the families of those killed. Almost 5,000 people were declared missing or dead following the collapse of the Twin Towers.

The UK Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has already agreed relatives could be eligible for payouts of up to 27,000 pounds for the trauma associated with watching the events unfold on live television.

The board usually compensates families who are present when their loved ones are killed or injured. But it has now agreed to take into account advances in technology and decided to treat those who saw the atrocity on television as if they had been actual witnesses to the killings.

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