Family members of the 216 passengers on board the ill-fated Air France Flight 447 could claim hundreds of millions of dollars in damages in the near future for their tragic losses, the German news agency "DPA" reported. Le Monde newspaper on Friday reported that a consortium of insurance companies, including Allianz, Axa, Swiss Re and others, could offer at least 330 million dollars in the near future. If the courts got involved, that total could reach 750 million dollars, but it could take years for such a large sum to be approved. The 216 passengers were insured through Air France. For the 12 crew members, the crash on June 1 into the chilly Atlantic waters off Brazil is considered a work-related accident, Le Monde reported. For the loss of the Airbus 330-200, pieces of which are strewn for miles across the ocean, Air France is to receive 67.4 million euros ($94.5 million). The question of which insurance company will pay the damages will only be decided after the investigation into what caused the accident. To date, 44 bodies have been found.
