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Air Crash Parents Launch Pounds 125m Compensation Bid

Posted on: Tuesday, 22 July 2008, 18:00 CDT

By Madeleine Brindley Health Editor

THE parents of a young Welsh couple killed in a Thai plane crash are suing the airline as part of a pounds 125m compensation claim.

Alex Collins and Bethan Jones, both 22, died after a budget airline crashed as it landed on the holiday island of Phuket last September.

The couple, from Maesteg and Porth, Rhondda, who were among 89 people who died in the disaster, had just started a dream round the- world trip after graduating from Cardiff University.

Their parents have joined other families in the action against the Thai One-Two-Go Airlines, its parent company Orient Thai and lessor, the GrandMax Group, which will be heard in US courts.

In a statement, the Collins and Jones families said that they believed the crash, which happened in torrential rain, could have been avoided.

They said: "We can confirm that we are among those who have instructed Stewarts Law to take legal action against One-Two-Go Airlines, Orient Thai and Grandmax Group.

"We believe the air crash was completely avoidable and those responsible should be held to account.

"While we accept that nothing can bring Alex and Bethan and the other people who lost their lives back, we are keen to make sure we prevent this from happening again."

And James Healy-Pratt, partner and head of the aviation department at Stewarts Law in London, said: "This is about air safety, getting the truth about what happened and preventing it happening again.

"The families and victims of OG269 are taking legal action in the US courts imminently. We will be forcing One-Two-Go Airlines to prove in court that it is not a low cost, low safety airline."

Alex and Bethan met while they were both studying English at Cardiff University and had worked in call centres to save enough money to go travelling for six months.

They left the UK on September 13, just days before boarding Flight OG269 in Bangkok, a city which they had found "too polluted".

Alex, from Maesteg, was originally listed as missing after the crash but was later confirmed dead.

His parents Richard and Margaret said at the time: "Alex was a fantastic, loving son and our loss has left us with a hole in our hearts that can never be filled.

"He was an intelligent, polite and considerate young man with an extraordinary sense of humour. He had a great zest for life and both he and his girlfriend Be than were really looking forward to this trip that he had meticulously planned for over a year."

Bethan, from Porth, suffered 50%burns in the fire, which engulfed the crashed plane. She died 10 days later in hospital.

The full inquests into the deaths of the flight's eight British victims will be held after an investigation into the crash is carried out.

madeleine.brindley@mediawales.co.uk

(c) 2008 South Wales Echo. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Source: South Wales Echo

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