Damages for Kin of Cable Car Fatalities

Families of the 20 people who died when a U.S. Marine jet clipped a cable car line in the Italian Alps will each receive as much as $2 million in damages under a new law approved by Italy’s Senate. The legislation, adopted Tuesday, names a special commissioner to identify the victims’ relatives, determine the damages due and pay out the sum within three months. Under a North Atlantic Treaty Organization convention, the host country pays 25% of the damages while the country responsible for the accident pays the remainder. A U.S. EA-6B Prowler on a training mission sliced the cable car line in Cavalese on Feb. 3, 1998.