Protracted negotiations over the question of compensation for the 22 Israelis who died in the crash of an El Al plane which was shot down by the Bulgarian Air Force in 1955, have been concluded with the signing of an agreement providing for the payment to Israel by Bulgaria of a total of $195,000, it was announced here today. Israel had originally claimed $2,500,000 in compensation for the incident in which all 58 persons aboard the plane were killed when the aircraft was shot down on a routine flight from Vienna to Lydda Airport.
Under the terms of the agreement, each of the families of the victims will receive $8,236 which corresponds to the maximum compensation payment fixed by the Warsaw Convention for damage claims of individuals against foreign governments. The remainder of the payment will be divided amount the families to cover damage and freight losses.
The agreement does not include compensation for the loss of the plane. The Bulgarian Government had earlier settled most of the claims brought by families of the 26 non-Israelis aboard the plane. In 1959, Israel’s claim was brought before the International Court of Justice at The Hague which ruled that it had no jurisdiction in the case.
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