Families mourn after S Korea plane crash

A festive trip to Thailand was supposed to be a celebration for Maeng Gi-Su’s nephew and his nephew’s two sons, who were marking the end of their college entrance exams.

Instead, it ended in tragedy when all three died on the Jeju Air plane that crash-landed in South Korea on Sunday morning, killing 179 of the 181 people onboard.

“I can’t believe the entire family has just disappeared,” Maeng, 78, told the BBC.

“My heart aches so much.”

The family were among those travelling on flight 7C2216 from Bangkok to Muan International Airport, which skidded off the runway after touching down and crashed into a wall shortly after 09:00 local time (00:00 GMT) on Sunday.

All of the passengers on the Boeing 737-800 died, making it the deadliest plane crash on South Korean soil.

Four crew members died, while two were rescued from the wreckage alive.

The 179 passengers were aged between three and 78 years old, although most were in their 40s, 50s and 60s, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported. Two Thai nationals are among the dead and the rest are believed to be South Korean, authorities have said.

Five of the people who died were children under the age of 10, while the youngest passenger, a little boy, was just three years old.

One 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, according to Yonhap news agency.

Many of the passengers had been celebrating the Christmas holidays in Thailand and were returning home.

The cousin of one victim, Jongluk Doungmanee, told BBC Thai she was “shocked” when she heard the news.

“I had goosebumps. I couldn’t believe it,” Pornphichaya Chalermsin said.

Jongluk had spent over two weeks in Thailand visiting her family and traveling in the northern city of Chiang Mai with her husband.

A 71-year-old father, Jeon Je-young, told the Reuters news agency that his daughter Mi-Sook, who was identified by her fingerprints, had been on her way home after travelling with friends to Bangkok for the festivities.

“My daughter, who is only in her mid-40s, ended up like this,” he said, adding that he had last seen her on 21 December, when she brought some food and next year’s calendar to his house – that would become their last moment together.

Mi-Sook leaves behind a husband and teenage daughter.

“This is unbelievable”, said Jeon.

One woman said her sister, who had been having a tough time had gone to Thailand as life began to improve for her.

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

The two flight attendants who survived the crash were found in the tail end of the plane, the most intact part of the wreckage.

One was a 33-year-old man, with the surname Lee, who was rushed to a hospital in Mokpo, about 25km (15.5 mi) south of the airport, but was later transferred to Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital in the capital, Yonhap news agency reported.

“When I woke up, I had already been rescued,” he told doctors at the hospital, according to its director Ju Woong, who spoke during a press briefing.

The survivor, who suffered multiple fractures, is receiving special care due to the risk of after-effects, including total paralysis, Ju said.

The other survivor, a 25-year-old female flight attendant with the surname Koo, is being treated at Asan Medical Center in eastern Seoul, Yonhap added.

She has sustained head and ankle injuries but is reportedly in a stable condition.

It’s not yet known exactly what caused the disaster, but a number of eye witnesses say they could see that the plane was in trouble before the crash.

Restaurant owner Im Young-Hak said he initially thought it was an oil tanker accident.

“I went outside and saw thick, dark smoke. After that, I heard a loud explosion, not from the crash itself. Then there were more explosions – at least seven,” he told Reuters.

“We feel bad when accidents happen on the other side of the world, but this happened right here. It’s traumatic.”

Yoo Jae-yong, 41, who was staying near to the airport, told local media he saw a spark on the right wing shortly before the crash.

Kim Yong-cheol, 70, said the plane failed to land initially and circled back to try again.

He added that he witnessed “black smoke billowing into the sky” after hearing a “loud explosion”, Yonhap agency reported.

One firefighter who was dispatched to the scene told Reuters he had never seen something “on this scale”.

BBC reporters on the ground have said the sounds of family members crying echoed through the terminal on Sunday evening, while others are angry at how long it is taking to identify the bodies.

Hundreds remain at Muan International Airport waiting for loved ones to be identified.

Some have given DNA saliva samples to officials to help identify the bodies of victims, and the government has offered funeral services and temporary housing to bereaved families.

A national period of mourning has also been declared for the next seven days.

But for all the loved ones of those who died, many questions still remain – not least the cause of the crash, and whether it could have been averted.

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

“(There) are softer fields than this cement runway. Why couldn’t the pilot land there instead?”

His daughter Mi-Sook was almost home, so saw no reason to call and leave a final message, he says.

“She was almost home – she thought she was coming home”.

Additional Reporting by BBC Thai’s Thanyaporn Buathong