Chapecoense Widows And Survivors Protesting In London

Story By: Juan Mayes, Sub EditorJoseph GolderAgencyGolder’s News And Sport

The survivors and families of the victims of the Chapecoense plane crash are protesting outside the offices of an American insurance firm in London today demanding compensation.

Several widows and surviving players from the tragic LaMia flight 2933 plane crash which claimed the lives of almost the entire Chapecoense squad in 2016 have taken to the streets of London today.

Pictures Credit: Golders

Chapecoense central defender Helio Neto – who survived the crash – is among those attending the protest outside the offices of risk assessment firm Aon in London. The protesters claim Aon have reduced the amount of compensation they are entitled to and are refusing to pay out because the company claims the correct insurance documents were not in place for the flight.

Neto wrote on social media: “We are inviting all the Brazilian community in London to share and support the cause.”

Pictures Credit: Golders

Local media most of the victim’s families have not received compensation from the insurance companies involved in the accident. Twenty-three families each accepted a 935,000-BRL (192,764-GBP) deal from insurance companies Tokyo Marine Kiln from Japan and Bisa from Bolivia which prohibits them from seeking further legal action in the case.

The remaining 48 families of the victims refused the deal and their lawyers believe each family is owed between 4 and 5 million USD (3.66 and 4.57 million GBP).

The group’s lawyer told local media: “The objective of our peaceful protest in London in front of the office of the insurance company Aon is because we still do not understand why the insurance claim they had with LaMia would go down so much.

“They went from 300 million USD (243.56 million GBP) to 25 million USD (20.30 million GBP) in 2015 when Aon knew full well the airline was exclusively dedicated to transporting football teams and all of the risks that entails.”

Participating in the protest is current Chapecoense defender and plane crash survivor Helio Neto along with the club’s former players Jackson Follman and Alan Ruschel.

Both are also crash survivors. Follman lost a leg in the accident while Ruschel was able to make a return to the pitch less than a year after the crash.

Local media report Aon claims the insurance fee for the flight had not been paid at the time which impedes them from paying compensation.

However, lawyers from the families claim they received no official communication of the lack of payment of the insurance and that if the lack of payment had been communicated to the authorities at the time, it would have stopped the flight from ever taking off.

The shocking crash took place near Medellin, Colombia. Chapecoense were travelling to Medellin to play the 2016 Copa Sudamericana Final against CA Atletico Nacional SA.

The accident claimed the lives of 71 out of 77 people on board. Out of the six survivors, two were flight crew, one was a journalist and three were Chapecoense players.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.