'$11 mn for Virginia Tech massacre victims'

Survivors and families of victims of last year's Virginia Tech massacre, in which 32 people including two Indians were killed, will share a settlement from the state of Virginia worth more than $11 million, their lawyers said.

"The historic settlement agreement with the Commonwealth of Virginia will result in more than $11 million in financial compensation, health benefits and non-monetary assistance for surviving family members and victims of the April 16, 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech," attorneys Peter Grenier and Douglas Fierberg said in a statement.

In exchange for "the substantial consideration they will receive under the settlement agreement, the families agreeing to this settlement are waiving their rights to sue the Commonwealth of Virginia," Fierberg told AFP.

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine called the deal "a reasonable resolution" to the horrific shooting rampage one year ago that killed 32 students and staff at the school, wounding dozens of others.

"On April 16, 2007, an unthinkable tragedy took place on the campus of Virginia Tech," Kaine said in a statement.

"For several months the victims and victims' families, their counsel, Virginia Tech, and officials of the Commonwealth have worked with serious commitment and diligence toward a reasonable resolution and response to the legitimate needs, interests and concerns arising out of that horrific event," he said.

"A proposal for resolution has now been accepted by a substantial majority of the victims and victims' families," the governor added, declining to release details of the agreement.