Vientiane – More than two-thirds of compensation payments to families of the victims of Lao Airlines flight QV301 have now been paid out, state-run media Vientiane Times reported Wednesday.

The airline’s insurer, Lao-Viet Insurance Company, is paying compensation amounting to some 100,000 U.S. dollars for each victim.

The families who have yet to receive compensation will be able to get it once they have provided appropriate documentation, company official Khetthid Khamfongnoy told Vientiane Times.

The flight crashed on its approach to Laos’ southern city of Pakse on Oct. 16 last year, killing all 44 passengers and five crew on board.

According to the Final Report outlining findings of the investigation into the crash released last Friday, a sudden change of weather condition and the flight crew’s failure to properly execute procedures appropriate after a missed approach were probably causes of the accident.

The aircraft’s fuselage struck the trees on an island in the Mekong River, and then crashed into the bank before plunging into the river, said the report.

Khetthid said the company had organized a traditional Lao Buddhist merit making ceremony at the national stupa That Luang with chanting of sutras by some 50 monks, led by Lao Buddhist Federation President, Venerable Phong Samaleuk.

Lao Airlines will also receive 22 million U.S. dollars as part of its policy with the insurer. Source: Xinhua