China has almost doubled the amount of compensation that will be paid to relatives of the victims of last Saturday's fatal train collision to 915,000 yuan (about 143,000 U.S. dollars) per deceased family member, sources with the local rescue command center said Friday.
The command center under the State Council, or China's cabinet, said it reached an agreement with the relatives of the victims to raise the compensation amount from the original 500,000 yuan in order to stick to the principle of "putting people first."
The payments will include death compensation, funeral expenses, compensation for emotional distress and one-off aid that will help cover living expenses for the victims' children, according to the command center.
The Ministry of Railways will provide the compensation.
The center also said it is working on a compensation agreement for those who were injured in the accident.
Saturday's train collision near the city of Wenzhou in east Zhejiang Province has left at least 40 people dead and 191 others injured.
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