The Estonian Foreign Ministry will do everything that is necessary to bring the Estonian citizens killed and injured in last week's terrorist attack in Nice back home, Foreign Minister Marina Kaljurand said on Tuesday.
Govt to help in bringing killed, injured Estonians home from Nice
19th July 2016, 13:45
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«Yes, I can confirm that we will help to bring the killed and injured persons to Estonia,» the minister said at a press conference.
She said a compensation made available by the French government could be tapped into for this. Estonian officials meanwhile are working to find out what kind of insurance the victims had and whether it covers the costs of bringing them back to Estonia.
There is a crisis response center in France and a financial compensation has been set out for the next of kin of the people killed in the attack and those who sustained injuries, the minister said. «The French Foreign Ministry has shared information to this effect, right now our diplomats are working to find out the details,» Kaljurand said.
She added that the most important thing now is not to deal with the costs and who will pay, but with providing psychological support to the families of the victims and the people in hospital.
The ministry is providing consular support to the Estonians in Nice now in their communication with the French authorities. «At the beginning one of our diplomats went to Nice to help in communication with local authorities. This was particularly important since not everybody speaks French,» Kaljurand said. Estonia also has sent one additional diplomat to France to communicate with the French authorities on the subject of the victims of terror.
The Estonian Foreign Ministry obtained confirmation from the French authorities late on Monday night that there are two Estonian nationals among the people killed in the terrorist attack in Nice.
According to the media the victims are a woman by the first name Tatjana, who was on a holiday in Nice with her husband, daughter and grandchildren, and Rickard Kruusberg, a 21-year-old from Tallinn who attended an innovation academy program in Nice.
Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Tunisian national, ploughed a truck into crowds of people leaving the French national day fireworks display in Nice on the evening of July 14, killing 84 and injuring scores of others.