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Government wants CAL to help pay for Penghu search and rescue effort costs

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications has asked China Airlines to share the cost of rescue efforts following last year's plane crash which killed 225 people, an official said yesterday.

The NT$223 million (US$6.47 million) bill covered the maintenance and fuel of helicopters and frigates dispatched to help the rescue after the plane crashed into waters near the Penghu island group shortly after takeoff on May 25.

The bill also included DNA tests conducted to identify the victims, according to an account compiled by the authorities.

"The expenses have become an extra burden on our side," said Oliver Yu (游芳來), vice minister of transportation and communications.

"We believe CAL can afford to share the costs because the aircraft was insured," Yu told reporters

"But CAL is concerned that its insurance premium will be raised if it agrees to pay," Yu said.

No agreement has been reached despite several rounds of negotiations, he added.

"It is unfair that the authorities are asking us to share the rescue costs because their budget is short," said CAL spokesman Roger Han (韓梁中).

"It will set a bad precedent for future accidents," Han added.

Han said any claim for payment from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications must be backed up by law.

"It isn't that we are unwilling to pay. But the problem is that the government lacks a legal basis for its claim for compensation from CAL, a private company, for their rescue efforts after emergencies and disasters," Han said.

He said CAL's offer of US$14.2 million in compensation for each victim had been accepted by most family members.

The Hong Kong-bound Boeing 747-200 carrying 206 passengers and 19 crew plunged into waters some 20 minutes after it took off from CKS airport.

Metal fatigue was suspected to have caused the accident, the nation's worst ever air disaster.
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