The alma mater of the Hongkonger who died in an Ethiopian Airlines plane crash just over a week ago has started a fund to benefit his wife and children.
The fund is jointly organized by the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s (CUHK) Alumni Charity Foundation and the CUHK business school’s alumni association.
Funds will go to the family of Victor Tsang, a program officer for the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Gender and Safeguards Unit, who was one of the 157 people who perished on board the Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines flight, which crashed shortly after takeoff.
Tsang graduated from CUHK’s business school in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management.
A joint statement by the charity foundation and business school alumni association says that the funds will “help provide support for Mr. Tsang’s family during this difficult time and will finance the education of his children.”
Tsang leaves behind a 2-year-old son named Oliver, and his wife, Aurora Cheung, who is pregnant with their second child.
The plane Tsang was on board was the same model as the Lion Air jet that plummeted into the Java Sea in November.
An investigation into what caused both crashes are ongoing, but scrutiny has centered on the Boeing 737 MAX line of aircraft, which was ultimately grounded worldwide. International outlets have since reported that the 737-MAX jet in both instances did not have two additional safety functions that Boeing does not include in its standard model, NBC reports.
The manufacturer has since vowed to include the additional features in its standard jets.
Ethiopia Airlines, meanwhile, dismissed reports that the pilot of the doomed plane did not train on the airline’s MAX simulator prior to the crash, saying that its pilots had completed training recommended by Boeing and approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration on the differences between the older 737 jets and the 737 MAX models, which were introduced to commercial service in 2017, Reuters reported.
“We urge all concerned to refrain from making such uninformed, incorrect, irresponsible and misleading statements during the period of the accident investigation,” it said.
