General
Anger and Agony in South Korea After Plane Crash Lands, Killing 179
A Jeju Air passenger jet carrying 181 people from Bangkok sped off the runway and burst into flames. Two crew were rescued in what was the country’s worst air disaster in decades.
The passenger plane with 181 people on board skidded on the runway at high speed and slammed into a wall before exploding into flames.
Two crew members were rescued alive from the tail of the burning plane, but over the ensuing hours on Sunday, grim news trickled out to anxious relatives at Muan International Airport, in southwestern South Korea.
By late Sunday, all the remaining 179 people on board were confirmed dead, making the crash of the plane — flown by the popular low-cost carrier Jeju Air — the worst aviation disaster involving a South Korean airline in nearly three decades and the worst ever on South Korean soil.
Officials were investigating what caused the plane to crash land, including why its landing gear appeared to have malfunctioned and whether the plane had been struck by birds.
As speculation swirled about the cause of the crash, hundreds of family members of passengers endured the painful wait for news of their loved ones returning home from a trip abroad. Wails and screams filled the Muan airport on Sunday afternoon. A young woman comforted an older woman weeping about her son. Two crying women embraced each other.
By Sunday evening, only 65 of the dead could be identified through their fingerprints and other means, officials said. A dozen bodies were so badly damaged that officials could not immediately identify their gender. Those who were identified included a 23-year-old flight attendant and a 78-year-old male passenger.
