Immediate family members of victims of doomed flight MH17 to receive US$50,000 compensation

The immediate family members of the victims of the doomed Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 are expected to receive an advance compensation of US$50,000 (about RM160,000) at the soonest possible date.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim said MAS was handing over the advanced payment.

"I understand the payment to the closest kin will be made soon as it was clear what happened to the aircraft," she said when contacted by RTM in the Selamat Pagi 1Malaysia programme aired over TV1.

Rohani said earlier, 25 family members of the victims of the MH17 tragedy had received US$5,000 (about RM16,000) as a one-off payment from MAS to assist them in their daily expenses.

Flight MH17 which was carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew members was headed to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam when it was believed to have been shot down over Donetsk, eastern Ukraine on July 17.

Elaborating, Rohani said 70 per cent of the immediate relatives of the Malaysian victims had informed the ministry on managing the bodies when they arrived.

"The remaining 30 per cent have not made any decision on the matter and we are not forcing them to decide as we understand they are still in grief.

"At the moment, the pressing question from these relatives and family members is, when they would be able to receive the bodies of their loved ones," noted Rohani.

She said she was informed by a Malaysian forensics team in Amsterdam, two days ago, that several DNA matching carried out on the bodies of victims involved Dutch citizens.

"But we do not rule out that (the bodies of) Malaysians may be identified soon, and will keep the families informed on the matter," she added.