South Korean authorities began releasing the bodies of plane crash victims to their families on Tuesday, as investigators rushed to determine why the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crash-landed and caught fire.
U.S. investigators, including Boeing representatives, arrived at the crash site in Muan, South Korea, where officials were examining two black boxes recovered from the charred wreckage. The plane, which was carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea, made a mayday call before belly-landing, crashing into a barrier, and bursting into flames. All passengers, except for two flight attendants who were pulled from the wreckage, were killed.
South Korea is observing seven days of mourning, with flags flying at half-mast. The country’s president urged officials to “thoroughly reexamine the overall aircraft operation system and immediately address any necessary improvements.”
At Muan airport, investigators were carefully examining the wreckage while soldiers searched the surrounding fields. People left ritual offerings, such as food and letters, near the airport’s perimeter in honor of the victims. One letter left on a fence read, “Captain, first officer, and crew members thank you so much for doing your best to save the passengers. I pray for your eternal rest.”
At the airport, where victims’ families had been waiting for information since Sunday, frustration grew over delays in identifying the passengers. However, officials announced that the first bodies were being released to the families for funerals, even as the identification process continued. “Of the 179 victims, the bodies of four have been handed over to their families for funeral procedures,” said Transport Minister Park Sang-woo.
For 28 victims, whose identities were confirmed and autopsies completed, funeral procedures were allowed to begin after the families’ consent. One family lost nine members, including the oldest passenger, who was taking his first overseas trip to celebrate his birthday. The entire family perished, leaving only one son-in-law, who was unable to join the trip, to mourn the loss of his wife and three children. “The son-in-law was in utter despair, saying, ‘I should have gone with them and died with them,'” local broadcaster KBC reported.
Memorial altars have been set up across South Korea, including in Seoul. At Muan airport, families oversaw the creation of a new altar, adorned with black-and-white funeral flowers.
A more detailed account of the flight’s final moments is expected once authorities finish analyzing the black boxes. “The surface contamination cleaning of the black box has been completed, and its condition is being assessed,” said Deputy Civil Aviation Minister Joo Jong-wan. “However, the flight data recorder’s data storage unit is still under evaluation due to a missing connector,” he added. Technical reviews are ongoing to determine how to extract the data.
