The Mexico City government is providing educational scholarships and jobs to family members of people who were killed or injured in last month’s subway disaster that claimed 26 lives.
The head of the government’s Executive Commission for Attention to Victims (CEAVI) announced that 153 children and young people from 95 families affected by the May 3 train crash will receive monthly scholarship payments.
Armando Ocampo Zambrano told a press conference that the recipients will be able to access the payments via digital debit cards. He didn’t say how much the scholarships were worth.
Ocampo revealed that CEAVI has found jobs in the Mexico City government and the private sector for 145 family members of people killed or injured in the accident, which was caused by the collapse of an overpass on Line 12 of the Metro system.
The government is seeking to find positions for 76 others, he said. The official also said that CEAVI has provided a range of other support to victims and their families.
Many will be eligible for one-off payments to cover medical costs and other expenses incurred. Some could receive ongoing pension payments because they lost a spouse or were orphaned by the accident.
Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum announced a few days after the accident that the families of the 26 people who were killed would receive 700,000 pesos (about US $35,000). The families of those injured were to receive 10,000 pesos (US $500).
Investigators, including a Norwegian company contracted to conduct an independent probe, are still working to determine why the overpass collapsed on the subway’s newest line.
Mexico News Daily