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

After the S Korea plane crash, families lament, “It’s unbearable.”.

It was eleven minutes ago.

Mackenzie, Jean.

The correspondent from Seoul.

Reporting from Muan.

Comerford, Ruth ().

NBC News.

originating in London.

A Jeju Air plane crashed on Sunday, leaving hundreds of mourners encamped out at Muan International Airport in South Korea, angry that they have yet to see the bodies of their loved ones.

The delay was caused by officials taking their time to carefully identify all 179 victims, whose bodies were severely damaged in the crash, police superintendent general Na Won-o said amid irate cries.

“Is it possible that they will be reassembled?” a middle-aged man asked, clearly upset.

Na stated that officials wanted to do everything in their power to gather and match as many bodies as possible, despite another individual’s request that the victims’ remains be released in their current circumstances.

While the majority of the family sat in stunned silence, exhausted, some were moved to tears by these somber details.

Shortly after 09:00 local time (00:00 GMT) on Sunday, the Boeing 737-800, which was en route from Bangkok to Muan International Airport, skidded off the runway after landing and collided with a wall.

Of the 181 people on board, 179 perished in the accident, making it the deadliest plane crash to occur in South Korea.

While two crew members were recovered alive from the wreckage, four others perished.

The BBC interviewed a number of victims’ relatives, including Shin Gyu-ho, who lost his son-in-law and two grandsons.

The 64-year-old claimed that he had considered destroying the public address system used for police briefings out of rage at the length of time the identification process was taking.

His two grandsons, a sophomore and a senior in high school, were described as “too scattered to be recognized” even though Shin’s son-in-law’s body has been identified.

He claimed that his daughter and granddaughter “cannot hold themselves together” and have taken refuge in a privacy tent at the airport.

When Maeng Gi-su’s nephew and his nephew’s two sons traveled to Thailand to celebrate the conclusion of their college entrance exams, the trip turned tragic when all three of them perished on the plane.

“It’s unbelievable that the whole family has simply vanished,” Maeng, 78, said to the BBC.

“My heart is hurting so bad. “.

According to Yonhap news agency, the 179 passengers who perished on flight 7C2216 ranged in age from three to 78, with the majority being in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. Authorities have stated that the remaining victims are thought to be South Korean, with two Thai nationals among the dead.

The youngest passenger, a three-year-old boy, was among the five children under the age of ten who perished.

According to a man in his sixties, his sister-in-law, his daughter, her husband, and their young children were among the five members of his family who had been on the plane, spanning three generations, according to Yonhap news agency.

Many of the passengers were on their way home after spending the Christmas holidays in Thailand.

One victim’s cousin, Jongluk Doungmanee, told BBC Thai that she was “shocked” to learn of the incident.

“I got shivers. According to Pornphichaya Chalermsin, “I couldn’t believe it.”.

For the previous five years, Jongluk had been residing and working in South Korea’s agricultural sector. She typically took two annual vacation trips to Thailand to see her father, who was in poor health, and her two children from a previous marriage, who were ages 7 and 15.

Her husband had returned to South Korea earlier in December, and she had been with him for more than two weeks.

According to Pornphichaya, her father, who has a heart condition, was “devastated” to learn of her passing.

It’s too much for him. All three of his children work overseas, she added, adding that this was his youngest daughter.

The Reuters news agency was informed by another 71-year-old father, Jeon Je-young, that his daughter Mi-Sook, who was recognized by her fingerprints, had been returning home after attending the celebrations in Bangkok with friends.

“My daughter, who is only in her mid-40s, ended up like this,” he said, adding that he had last seen her on December 21st, when she brought some food and the calendar for the following year to his house. That would be their final time together.

Mi-Sook leaves behind a teenage daughter and her husband.

Jeon remarked, “This is unbelievable.”.

According to one woman, her sister, who had been struggling, made the decision to travel to Thailand as things started to get better for her.

She told Yonhap news agency, “She’s had so many hardships and gone traveling because her situation was only just beginning to improve.”.

The two surviving flight attendants were discovered in the plane’s tail end, which was the most intact area of the wreckage.

Yonhap news agency reported that one of them, a 33-year-old man with the last name Lee, was taken to a hospital in Mokpo, which is approximately 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) south of the airport. He was then taken to Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital in the capital.

At a press briefing, the hospital’s director, Ju Woong, said, “When I woke up, I had already been rescued,” he told the doctors.

Ju stated that because of the possibility of severe consequences, such as complete paralysis, the survivor, who sustained multiple fractures, is undergoing special care.

At Asan Medical Center in eastern Seoul, the other survivor, a female flight attendant, 25, with the last name Koo, is receiving treatment, Yonhap continued.

Despite suffering injuries to her head and ankle, her condition is said to be stable.

“I noticed dense, black smoke, followed by a blast.”.

Several eyewitnesses claim they could see the plane was having problems prior to the crash, though the exact cause of the catastrophe is still unknown.

Im Young-Hak, the owner of the restaurant, claimed that at first he believed it to be an oil tanker accident.

“I noticed dense, black smoke when I stepped outside. I then heard a loud explosion, which was not related to the crash. “There were at least seven more explosions after that,” he told Reuters.

When accidents occur on the other side of the globe, we feel horrible, but this one happened here. It causes trauma. “.

Just before the collision, Yoo Jae-yong, 41, who was lodging close to the airport, told local media he noticed a spark on the right wing.

The aircraft circled back to try again after initially failing to land, according to 70-year-old Kim Yong-cheol.

According to the Yonhap agency, he added that he heard a “loud explosion” and then saw “black smoke billowing into the sky.”.

Reuters was informed by one of the firefighters who were sent to the scene that he had never witnessed anything “on this scale.”.

The sounds of family members sobbing reverberated throughout the terminal on Sunday night, according to BBC reporters on the scene. Others are upset about the length of time it is taking to identify the bodies.

There are still hundreds waiting for the identification of loved ones at Muan International Airport.

Funeral services and temporary housing have been provided by the government to grieving families, and some people have provided DNA saliva samples to authorities in order to assist in identifying the bodies of victims.

Additionally, a seven-day nationwide period of mourning has been announced.

The cause of the crash and whether it could have been prevented are just two of the many unanswered questions for all the surviving loved ones of those who perished.

Jeon told Reuters, “The water near the airport is not deep.”.

Softer fields exist than this cement runway. Instead, why couldn’t the pilot land there?

He claims that since his daughter Mi-Sook was almost home, he didn’t see the need to call and leave a parting message.

“I thought she was coming home, but she was almost there.”.

BBC Thai’s Thanyaporn Buathong provided additional reporting.