We start with a very painful event here in the country.
A Jeju Air flight arriving from Bangkok skidded down the runway at Muan International Airport in southern Korea a little after nine Sunday morning before crashing into a concrete barrier and bursting into flames.
For more I have my colleague Park Kun-woo standing by live at the site of the tragic event.
Kun-woo do fill us in with the latest from there.
Yes, Sunny, I’m standing close to the crash site at Muan International Airport in Muan-gun County, in the southwest of the country.
It is truly devastating here, I must say, with the wreckage of the airplane still at the site.
The Jeju Air flight departed from Bangkok on Sunday and was scheduled to land at Muan International Airport at around 8:30 AM the same day, but crashed due to what some observers are saying was a malfunction that affected the aircraft’s landing gear.
The incident claimed the lives of 1-hundred-79 people out of the 1-hundred-81 on board, including six crew members.
Two flight attendants were the only survivors.
The aircraft made several landing attempts from one direction of the runway, but then committed to a wheels-up crash landing following an approach in the other direction.
According to witnesses, the aircraft made contact with the runway further down from the standard contact point at a relatively high speed.
After skidding along the runway, it collided with a wall, and became engulfed in flames.
Here’s what another witness told us.
“At first, I thought they were blank rounds, which residents like me are used to. I didn’t see the plane crash, but later I saw the tail section of the aircraft in front of my house. I feel really sorry. How devastated will their families feel?”
The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-800, which is used by many domestic airlines, and with around 100 such aircraft in service, concern is being expressed.
Another Jeju Air flight using the same model departed Gimpo airport on Monday morning, but reported problems with its landing gear and returned to the airport for checks.
Around 20 people later decided not to board the flight.
Kun-woo I understand quite a number of the passengers were those on family trips.
Do tell us more.
Most of the victims are believed to have been returning from family trips to Bangkok during the Christmas holidays.
The majority of the passengers were Koreans except for two Thai nationals, 11 were students.
157 out of the 179 deceased are reportedly residents of Gwangju and Jeollanam-do Province.
Here’s what a bereaved family member had to say.
“The heads of families are dead. Sons and daughters are left by themselves without their parents. How could these people live on? Please provide the exact reason for the incident and ensure proper compensation. But now, the funeral procedures need to be prioritized.”
Two flight attendants were rescued from the wreckage of the plane and are now in separate hospitals in Seoul.
The male flight attendant who survived reportedly suffered from memory loss following the crash and said the last thing he remembers is fastening his seat belt before landing.
I also hear that not all victims of the crash have been identified Kun-woo ?
The search for victims ended after 11 hours, however, the search for personal belongings is ongoing with the help of over 1-thousand-5-hundred rescue personnel.
DNA samples from bereaved family members were collected at the airport on Sunday, and the identities of at least 141 people have been verified as of Monday afternoon.
A temporary morgue has been set up at the airport.
Joint memorial altars were being set up on Monday at the 17 administrative divisions in the country, while at least two were created in Muan.
The closest one from here is around 5 kilometers away from the airport, but the bereaved families are requesting for one to be put up inside Muan airport.
Meanwhile, the transport ministry has launched a full inspection of all 101 Boeing 737-800 aircraft used by domestic airlines.
That’s all I have for you now.
Back to you Sunny.
All right Kun-woo thank you for that coverage.. from Muan International Airport the site of Sunday’s deadly plane crash.
Source : Arirang TV, https://www.arirang.com/news/view?id=279450
Arirang TV(public institution's name)'s public work is used according to KOGL