French court orders Yemenia to pay 225,000 euros as fine

PARIS, Sept. 10 (YPA) – A French court upheld on Tuesday the conviction of Yemen’s national airline, Yemenia Airways on charges of “unintentional killing of 152 passengers, whose plane crashed in 2009, leaving only one survivor.

The ouest-france website said that the plane that was carrying the victims 15 years ago crashed off the coast of the Comoros, killing 152 people.

The court ordered Yemenia to pay 225,000 euros ($224,500) as a fine when the accidents occurred, in addition to one million euros ($998,000) in damages and legal costs to the lone survivor and the families of 65 French citizens who were killed.

The ill-fated plane, an Airbus A310, crashed while it was about to land in the capital of the Comoros, Moroni, coming across the Indian Ocean, carrying 141 passengers on board, including 65 French nationals, and a crew of 11.

The only survivor of the accident was a 12-year-old girl, who survived after clinging to part of the plane wreckage for about 10 hours before she was rescued by fishermen.

AA