Anger as families wait to see bodies after South Korean plane crash

Hundreds of mourners gathered at Muan International Airport are angry that they have yet to see the bodies of their loved ones who died in Sunday’s Jeju Air plane crash.

Amid angry cries, police chief Na Won-o explained that the delay occurred because authorities took their time carefully identifying all 179 victims whose bodies were badly damaged in the crash.

“Can you promise that you will get them back together?” a middle-aged man asked with a visibly emotional expression.

Another person asked that the victims’ remains be released as is, but Na said officials wanted to do their best to collect and match as many bodies as possible.

These grim details brought some family members to tears, while most sat in exhausted, stunned silence.

A Boeing 737-800 on its way from Bangkok to Muan International Airport skidded off the runway and crashed after landing. hit the wall Just after 09:00 local time (00:00 GMT) on Sunday.

This accident killed 179 of 181 passengers, making it the deadliest plane crash on Korean soil.

Among the victims were four crew members, two of whom were pulled from the wreckage alive.

Among the victims’ family members interviewed by the BBC was Shin Gyu-ho, who lost two grandsons and a son-in-law.

Frustrated that the identification process was taking so long, the 64-year-old said he was so angry he thought about destroying the PA system used for police briefings.

While Mr. Shin’s son-in-law’s identity was confirmed, he was told that his two grandchildren (second and third year high school students) were “so scattered that they were unrecognizable.”

His daughter and granddaughter are hiding in a private tent at the airport because they “can’t stay together,” he said.

The trip that Maeng Gi-soo’s nephew and his nephew’s two sons took to Thailand to celebrate college entrance exams ended in tragedy when all three died on board the plane.

Mr Meng, 78, told the BBC: “I can’t believe my whole family is gone.”

“My heart hurts so much.”

According to Yonhap News, the 179 people who died on Flight 7C2216 ranged in age from 3 to 78, and most were in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. Authorities said that among the dead were two Thais and that the rest were presumed to be Koreans.

Five of the dead were children under the age of 10, with the youngest passenger being a 3-year-old boy.

According to Yonhap News, a man in his 60s said that five family members spanning three generations, including his sister-in-law, daughter, husband, and young children, were on the plane.

Many of the passengers were returning home from Thailand for the Christmas holidays.

Jongluk Doungmanee, a cousin of one of the victims, told BBC Thai he was “shocked” to hear the news.

“I got goosebumps. I couldn’t believe it,” said Pornphichaya Chalermsin.

Mr. Chong Luk has lived in Korea for the past five years and worked in the agricultural sector. She usually visits Thailand twice a year during the holidays to visit her sick father and her two children (ages 7 and 15) from a previous marriage.

This time, I spent over two weeks with my husband, who returned to Korea in early December.

Her father, who suffered from heart disease, was “completely shocked” when he learned of her death, Pornphichaya said.

“It was unbearable for him, his youngest daughter,” she said, adding that all three of his children were working abroad.

Another father, Jeon Ji-young (71), told Reuters that his daughter Mi-sook, identified through fingerprints, was returning home from a trip to Bangkok with friends for a festival.

“My daughter, who is in her mid-40s, ended up like this,” he said, adding that the last time he saw her was December 21. Then my daughter brought home food and a calendar for next year. Our last moments together.

Misook leaves behind her husband and teenage daughter.

Mr. Jeon said, “This is ridiculous.”

One woman said her sister, who was going through a difficult time, decided to visit Thailand after her life began to improve.

“Her situation was just starting to improve, so she went on the trip after going through so many hardships,” she told Yonhap News Agency.

The two crew members who survived the crash were found in the tail of the plane, the most intact part of the wreckage.

One person, 33-year-old Mr. Lee, was rushed to a hospital in Mokpo, about 25km south of the airport, but was later transferred to Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital in Yeonhap, the capital. The news agency reported.

“When I woke up, I had already been rescued,” Director Joo Woong said at a press briefing, telling doctors at the hospital.

Mr. Joo said that the survivor, who suffered multiple fractures, was receiving special care due to the risk of sequelae such as full-body paralysis.

Yonhap News added that another survivor, Ms. Gu (25-year-old female flight attendant), is receiving treatment at Asan Medical Center in Seoul.

He suffered head and ankle injuries but is said to be in stable condition.

It is not yet known exactly what caused the disaster, but multiple witnesses said they could see something was wrong with the plane before the crash.

Restaurant owner Lim Young-hak said he initially thought it was an oil tanker accident.

“I went outside and saw thick, black smoke. Then I heard a loud explosion, not the crash itself,” he told Reuters.

“It feels bad when an accident happens on the other side of the world, but it happened right here. It’s shocking.”

Yoo Jae-yong (41), who was staying near the airport, told local media that he saw sparks flying from the right wing just before the crash.

Kim Yong-cheol (70) said that the plane initially failed to land and then attempted to land again.

He added that he heard a ‘loud explosion’ and saw ‘black smoke rising into the sky’.

A firefighter dispatched to the scene told Reuters he had never seen anything “on this scale.”

Local BBC reporters said the cries of families echoed through the terminal on Sunday evening and others were angry at the long time it took to identify the bodies.

Hundreds of people remain at Muan International Airport waiting for their loved ones to be identified.

Some provided DNA saliva samples to officials to help identify the victims’ bodies, and the government provided funeral services and temporary housing for the families.

A period of national mourning has also been declared for the next seven days.

But many questions still remain for all the loved ones of those who died, especially about what caused the crash and whether it could have been avoided.

“The water near the airport is not deep,” Jeon said in an interview with Reuters.

“(There) is a field that is softer than this cement runway. Why couldn’t the pilot land there?”

He said his daughter Misook was almost home, so there was no reason to call and leave a final message.

“She’s almost home. I thought she was coming home.”

Additional reporting by BBC Thai’s Thanyaporn Buathong