LONDON: Travel operator Tui has reached a settlement with the families of survivors and relatives of British tourists killed in the 2015 Tunisia beach terror attack, the company and lawyers representing it have said.
The payout was reached “without admission of liability of fault” by the British branch of the German multinational. It is not currently known how much Tui paid.
On June 26, 2015, Seifuddine Rezgui killed 38 people, including 30 Brits, at the Riu Imperial Marhaba hotel complex. It was the deadliest attack in Tunisian history, with dozens more also injured in the violence.
The victims claimed that TUI UK was responsible for safety and security breaches at the hotel, which the company denied.
A joint statement released on Thursday by Tui and the law firm Irwin Mitchell, which is representing more than 80 claimants, said: “The tragic events of 26 June 2015 in Tunisia shocked and devastated us all and changed the lives of those affected forever. Tui has always expressed heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those caught up in the terrorist attack that day and continue to extend deepest sympathy.
“Tui has worked collaboratively with the claimants and their representatives, Irwin Mitchell, to reach a settlement without admission of liability or fault and in recognition of the wholly exceptional circumstances of the case, and in the hope that it will go some way to assisting the claimants.
“Tui appreciates how difficult it must be to move on from such a horrific incident but hopes today will provide the opportunity for those affected to start to do so.”
Tunisia’s tourism industry, an important sector for the small North African country, was hit hard by the attack and its aftermath as tourism collapsed over security concerns.
Tourist receipts dropped 50 percent year-on-year in 2016, and the number of border arrivals was down 18 percent, according to the Tunisian Ministry of Tourism.
