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

Hundreds of mourners camped out at South Korea’s Moan International Airport are angry that they have yet to see the bodies of their loved ones who died after a Jeju Air plane crash-landed on Sunday.

Amid the angry outcry, Police Superintendent General Na Won-o explained that authorities had delayed carefully identifying all 179 victims, whose bodies were badly damaged in the crash.

“Can you promise to get them back together?” A middle-aged man asked, visibly emotional.

Another person called for the remains of the victims to be left as is, but Na said officials wanted to do their best to collect and match as many bodies as possible.

The grim details left some family members in tears, while most sat in weary silence.

The Boeing 737-800, which was flying from Bangkok to Moan International Airport, skidded off the runway after touching down. Hit the wall. Shortly after 09:00 local time (00:00 GMT) on Sunday.

The crash killed 179 of the 181 people on board, making it the deadliest plane crash on South Korean soil.

Four crew members are among the casualties, while two were pulled alive from the wreckage.

Among the victims’ relatives the BBC spoke to was Shin Gyu-ho, who lost two grandchildren and a son-in-law.

Frustrated with how long the identification process was taking, the 64-year-old said he thought about breaking the PA system used for police briefings in anger.

While the body of Shin’s son-in-law has been identified, he was told that his two grandsons – a high school sophomore and a senior – were “too disintegrated to be identified”.

He said his daughter and granddaughter are staying in a privacy tent at the airport because “they can’t keep themselves together”.

For Maeng Gi-su’s nephew and his nephew’s two sons, a celebratory trip to Thailand to mark the end of college entrance exams ended in tragedy when all three died on the flight.

Meng, 78, told the BBC: “I can’t believe the whole family has just disappeared.

“My heart hurts so much.”

According to Yonhap News Agency, the 179 people who died on Flight 7C2216 were aged between three and 78, although most were in their 40s, 50s and 60s. Authorities have said two Thai nationals are among the dead and the rest are believed to be South Koreans.

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

According to Yonhap News Agency, a man in his sixties said five members of his family spanning three generations were on board the plane, including his sister-in-law, his daughter, her husband and their young children. were

Many travelers were celebrating Christmas holidays in Thailand and returning home.

A cousin of one of the victims, Jonglak Dong Min, told BBC Thai she was “shocked” when she heard the news.

“I was laughing. I couldn’t believe it,” said Pornphichaya Chalermsin.

Junglak had been working in the agriculture industry in South Korea for the past five years. She usually travels to Thailand twice a year during the holidays to visit her ailing father and two children – aged 7 and 15 – from a previous marriage.

She had then spent two weeks with her husband, who returned to South Korea in early December.

Purnavechaya said her father, who suffers from heart disease, was “devastated” when he learned of her death.

“It is unbearable for him. It was his youngest daughter”, he said, adding that all three of his children work abroad.

Another 71-year-old father, Jeon Ji-young, told Reuters his daughter Mi-suk, identified by her fingerprints, was on her way home after traveling with friends to Bangkok for the festivities. was

“My daughter, who is only in her mid-40s, ended up like this,” he said, adding that he had last seen her on December 21, when he had some food at his house and planned for the next year. had brought the calendar – it would become theirs. Last minute together

Mi-Sok leaves behind a husband and teenage daughter.

“It’s unbelievable”, said Jeon.

One woman said that her sister, who was going through hard times, decided to go to Thailand because her life was starting to improve.

“She has faced a lot of hardships and went on a trip because her condition was just starting to improve,” she told Yonhap news agency.

The two flight attendants who survived the crash were found in the rear end of the plane, which is the most secure part of the wreckage.

One of them, a 33-year-old man surnamed Lee, was taken to a hospital in Mokpo, about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) south of the airport, but was later transferred to Ewa Women’s University Seoul Hospital in the capital Yonhap. done The news agency reported.

“When I woke up, I had already been rescued,” he told doctors at the hospital, according to its director Joe Wong, who spoke during a press briefing.

The survivor, who suffered multiple fractures, is receiving special care because of the risk of after-effects, including complete paralysis, Joe said.

The survivor, a 25-year-old female flight attendant surnamed Ko, is being treated at Asan Medical Center in eastern Seoul, Yonhap added.

He suffered head and ankle injuries but is reportedly in a stable condition.

It is not yet known what caused the crash, but several eyewitnesses say they could see the plane was in trouble before the crash.

Restaurant owner Um Young Hock said that he initially thought it was an oil tanker accident.

“I went outside and saw thick, thick smoke. After that, I heard a loud explosion, not an accident. Then there were more explosions – at least seven,” he told Reuters.

“We feel bad when accidents happen on the other side of the world, but this happened here, it’s painful.”

Yu Jae Yong, 41, who was staying near the airport, told local media that he saw a spark on the right wing shortly before the crash.

Kim Yong-cheol, 70, said the plane initially failed to land and circled back to try again.

He added that he saw “black smoke billowing into the sky” after hearing a “loud explosion,” Yonhap agency reported.

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

BBC correspondents on the ground said the cries of family members echoed through the terminal on Sunday evening, while others were angry at the length of time it was taking to identify the bodies.

Hundreds of mourners are waiting for their loved ones to be identified at the international airport.

Some have given DNA saliva samples to officials to help identify victims’ bodies, and the government has offered funeral services and temporary housing to bereaved families.

National mourning has also been declared for the next seven days.

But for all the loved ones of those who died, many questions still remain – not least the cause of the crash, and whether it could have been avoided.

Jeon told Reuters that the water near the airport is not deep.

“(There are) softer fields than this cement runway. Why can’t the pilot land there instead?”

He says his daughter M-Sook was almost at home, so saw no reason to call and give a final message.

“She was almost home – she thought she was coming home”.

Additional reporting by BBC Thai’s Thania Puranbothong