Friday March 29th, 2024
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Egypt Pays $420,000 To Families Of Killed Mexican Tourists

The families of three of the Mexican tourists killed in Egypt in 2015 are each being paid $140,000 by The Federation of Egyptian Tourism Agencies.

Staff Writer

Ever since the tragic incident of the death of eight Mexican tourists, who were killed by mistake at the hands of the Egyptian military in the vast Western Desert on September 13th, 2015, a flag continues to be raised in regards to compensation of these victims' families, three of whom The Federation of Egyptian Tourism Agencies claimed on Monday that it recently paid $140,000 each in compensation, according to Ahram online.

As per The New York Times, Elhamy ElZayat, the Chairman of Egypt’s Tourism Federation, said the payments were not “an admission of guilt” by el-Sisi's government, but rather an attempt to revive Egypt’s flagging tourism industry.

"The families of three of the victims have each received a bank transfer worth $140,000," Ahmed Ibrahim, Treasurer of the Egyptian Travel Agents Association, told Ahram online. Moreover, Ibrahim stated that the federation agreed to compensate the families after an investigation found that the travel agency looking after the tourists was responsible for their deaths. "Negotiations are underway with the other five families in order to close the case definitively," Ibrahim said.

In January, Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu said Egypt's tourism ministry "found that the administrative authorities and the travel agency should have had more clarity on the permit, and in that sense would eventually be responsible," reported Ahram online.