South Korea plane crash: Anger as grieving families wait for victims’ remains
Share:
Black box retrieved but families are told bodies of victims may never be found. Desperate families who camped out at an airport awaiting news of their loved ones “wailed and passed out” as names of the 179 killed in South Korea’s deadliest plane crash were announced on Monday.
![[A satellite image of the plane disaster]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/30/13/2024-12-30T130035Z_227027218_RC2NZBALUYM5_RTRMADP_3_SOUTHKOREA-CRASH.jpg)
Grief and shock swept through the room as it emerged the only two survivors were cabin crew sitting at the back of the Boeing 737-800 which crash-landed at Muan International Airport. Investigators have retrieved the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, but it could be months before the cause of the disaster is clear – including why Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 from Bangkok landed without its slats or wheels deployed, and why there was a solid object beyond the runway perimeter that the pilots were unable to avoid.
![[A Jeju Air official bows his head and apologises to the bereaved families]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/30/15/SEI234551247.jpg)
Among those waiting to identify relatives was Maeng Gi-Su, whose nephew and his nephew’s two sons were aboard. “I can’t believe the entire family has just disappeared,” Maeng, 78, told the BBC adding they had been on their way back from a festive trip to Thailand.
![[Mourners pray for the victims on a plane fire at a memorial]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/30/05/South_Korea_Plane_Fire_99419.jpg)
“My heart aches so much.”. Five of the people who died were children under the age of 10, with the youngest passenger being a three-year-old boy. Another man in his sixties said five of his family members spanning three generations had been on the plane, including his sister-in-law, his daughter, her husband and their young children.
Some, who have lost generations in the crash, jostled and argued with officials, angry that they’ve still not been able to see the bodies. One official told the crowds they are unable to view the deceased as their bodies were “very badly damaged”, according to the BBC.
