ISLAMABAD: A subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell said today it will pay compensation to the victims of an oil tanker fire in Pakistan last month that killed 215 people, after Pakistan's oil and gas regulator threatened legal action.
After the fuel tanker crashed and started leaking on the side of a highway, hundreds of people from a nearby village rushed to the scene to collect the fuel. They were engulfed in flames when the spill ignited.
Pakistan wants Shell to pay USD 2.4 million, or USD 9,500 to the heirs of each person killed.
Shell Pakistan Limited said it was in discussions with Pakistani authorities over the "means by which this financial assistance can appropriately reach the injured and the families who have lost their loved ones." It did not specify the amount it planned to pay.
Imran Ghazanvi, a spokesman for Pakistan's oil and gas regulator, said earlier Wednesday that a probe found the company responsible for the disaster. The regulator says the tanker was not fit to transport oil and that the driver's license was invalid.
Shell Pakistan Limited has already paid a USD 96,000 fine.