The Fort Worth Press - Anguish for South Korea plane crash relatives amid grim salvage

USD -
AED 3.672971
AFN 71.633316
ALL 90.15028
AMD 390.65139
ANG 1.790208
AOA 916.000208
ARS 1075.240199
AUD 1.66707
AWG 1.8025
AZN 1.701669
BAM 1.785401
BBD 2.019937
BDT 121.550441
BGN 1.789833
BHD 0.376812
BIF 2925.5
BMD 1
BND 1.347806
BOB 6.928063
BRL 5.8915
BSD 1.000438
BTN 85.886692
BWP 14.071636
BYN 3.273951
BYR 19600
BZD 2.009521
CAD 1.419105
CDF 2871.000051
CHF 0.856399
CLF 0.025814
CLP 990.58005
CNY 7.3086
CNH 7.34782
COP 4391.18
CRC 507.659163
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 100.299613
CZK 23.086025
DJF 177.719747
DKK 6.822201
DOP 63.095264
DZD 133.792975
EGP 51.397403
ERN 15
ETB 129.706476
EUR 0.913845
FJD 2.340899
FKP 0.774458
GBP 0.783555
GEL 2.749641
GGP 0.774458
GHS 15.496707
GIP 0.774458
GMD 71.502648
GNF 8655.999865
GTQ 7.722082
GYD 209.932898
HKD 7.76814
HNL 25.750093
HRK 6.887702
HTG 130.908693
HUF 372.538
IDR 16867
ILS 3.77925
IMP 0.774458
INR 85.996951
IQD 1310
IRR 42100.000023
ISK 132.409665
JEP 0.774458
JMD 157.77438
JOD 0.708902
JPY 147.907978
KES 129.492558
KGS 86.8327
KHR 3962.000228
KMF 450.500861
KPW 900
KRW 1469.890341
KWD 0.30792
KYD 0.833797
KZT 524.446798
LAK 21660.00035
LBP 90798.310473
LKR 297.977032
LRD 199.499029
LSL 18.770322
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 5.540199
MAD 9.527504
MDL 17.747936
MGA 4659.999906
MKD 56.233434
MMK 2099.820881
MNT 3508.612
MOP 8.006117
MRU 39.849789
MUR 45.150026
MVR 15.392016
MWK 1735.496871
MXN 20.61894
MYR 4.480097
MZN 63.910048
NAD 18.769714
NGN 1566.00028
NIO 36.775017
NOK 10.97051
NPR 137.416643
NZD 1.802825
OMR 0.384992
PAB 1.000424
PEN 3.668501
PGK 4.06275
PHP 57.311976
PKR 280.601706
PLN 3.927985
PYG 8008.763722
QAR 3.641035
RON 4.547302
RSD 107.068038
RUB 86.147282
RWF 1416
SAR 3.754683
SBD 8.316332
SCR 14.887727
SDG 600.50089
SEK 10.07457
SGD 1.350705
SHP 0.785843
SLE 22.750051
SLL 20969.501083
SOS 571.497124
SRD 36.664012
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.75364
SYP 13001.844432
SZL 18.770189
THB 34.746497
TJS 10.870498
TMT 3.5
TND 3.040495
TOP 2.342097
TRY 37.993803
TTD 6.779955
TWD 32.986502
TZS 2691.721959
UAH 41.052646
UGX 3718.140656
UYU 42.138319
UZS 12940.000067
VES 70.161515
VND 25800
VUV 122.117563
WST 2.799576
XAF 598.823272
XAG 0.033547
XAU 0.000337
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.744173
XOF 597.501522
XPF 108.299139
YER 245.649669
ZAR 19.581989
ZMK 9001.205864
ZMW 27.98795
ZWL 321.999592
  • RBGPF

    1.0200

    69.02

    +1.48%

  • CMSC

    -0.1810

    22.109

    -0.82%

  • RELX

    -2.2700

    45.89

    -4.95%

  • GSK

    -1.7750

    34.755

    -5.11%

  • NGG

    -2.2750

    63.655

    -3.57%

  • RIO

    0.1600

    54.83

    +0.29%

  • BTI

    -0.1800

    39.68

    -0.45%

  • CMSD

    -0.2800

    22.55

    -1.24%

  • AZN

    -2.6650

    65.795

    -4.05%

  • BCC

    -1.2350

    94.205

    -1.31%

  • SCS

    -0.2400

    10.34

    -2.32%

  • BP

    -0.8900

    27.49

    -3.24%

  • JRI

    -0.5600

    11.4

    -4.91%

  • BCE

    -0.5600

    22.15

    -2.53%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0300

    8.22

    -0.36%

  • VOD

    -0.1050

    8.395

    -1.25%

Anguish for South Korea plane crash relatives amid grim salvage
Anguish for South Korea plane crash relatives amid grim salvage / Photo: © AFP

Anguish for South Korea plane crash relatives amid grim salvage

Cries of anguish echoed through a lounge at Muan International Airport in South Korea on Monday as families waited for news of relatives killed in the weekend's Jeju Air plane crash.

Text size:

The Boeing 737-800 from Thailand crashed Sunday while attempting an emergency belly landing, smashing into a wall and bursting into flames.

All but two of the 181 passengers and crew aboard were killed.

Grieving families are increasingly desperate -- and angry -- as they wait for formal identification of the remains of their loved ones, hoping to hold funerals and properly mourn.

"I apologise deeply... but the extent of the damage to the bodies is profound," an official told families at a briefing Monday, trying to explain the immense hurdles facing workers trying to recover remains while also preserving crash-site evidence.

"There are many cases in which arms and legs have been severed," he said, his words causing cries of shock and horror among the waiting families.

Using finger prints and DNA analysis, authorities have identified 146 of the victims, and are working hard on the 33 still to be verified.

- Human remains -

Soldiers were still combing through wetlands near the airport -- apparently looking for body parts -- and an AFP reporter saw blood-stained seats and splatters of human remains on the ground near the wreckage.

"We estimate that we can reconstruct 80 to 90 percent of the bodies if given a period of 10 days," the official said.

Relatives said they understood the process took time and that the bodies were "heavily damaged", but were desperate for progress.

"We want the authorities to bring our loved ones back, even if they are only 80 percent intact," Park Han-shin, who represents the victims’ relatives, told reporters.

"The temperature is rising rapidly, even though it is winter, which could lead to a situation where the remains decompose quickly," he said, calling for stepped-up search efforts in the crash zone.

He also called on the officials to bring more refrigerated containers for the remains.

The anger of the grieving relatives was palpable the night of the accident, when Jeju Air's CEO Kim E-bae, visited the families for the first time, bowing his head before them.

"With a heart full of sorrow, I express my condolences and sympathies to those who lost their lives in this accident. I also sincerely apologise to the bereaved families," he said.

- 'Save my daughter' -

But video circulating online showed family members shouting at Kim asking him why he came so late -- eleven hours after the accident.

"It only takes one hour and 40 minutes to get from Seoul to Gwangju by KTX, so what have you been doing? What are you trying to achieve by showing up only now?" yelled one family member.

Others shouted "save my daughter!" and "would you have done that if it was your own flesh and blood?"

At the crash site, the devastating impact of the accident was still evident Monday, with blood-stained debris -- seats, and twisted metal -- strewn across the site, and the smell of burning and blood lingering.

"It's heartbreaking," 71-year-old housewife Ms Yoo told AFP, saying her brother had been on the plane.

W.Matthews--TFWP