First payments made to September 11 relatives

The first families to receive compensation from the US government for losing their relatives in the World Trade Centre attacks will get payments between $300,000 (£195,000) and $3m.

Announcing the first batch of 25 payments from the September 11 Victims' Compensation Fund, which is eventually expected to disburse $4bn, its co-ordinator, Kenneth Feinberg, said the recipients included the families of police officers, firefighters and people who worked in the towers.

The formula used to calculate the compensation took into account assessments of the victims' earning power and age.

Mr Feinberg said nine of the 25 had accepted what they were offered because they were not prepared to wait while they disputed his assessment, probably because of their financial need. Four others had requested hearings to put their case for more money.

Most of the awards were between $1m and $1.5m, he said, the highest going to those whose relatives earned more than $200,000. The figures showed "the unprecedented generosity of the programme", he told the Washington Post.

To apply to the fund bereaved relatives must waive their right to sue anyone other than terrorists.