Bereaved families mourn as Korean plane crash toll rises to over 170

By Mark Ogagan

Death toll from Sunday morning fatal plane crash in Muan County, South Korea has risen to over 170 from the initially reported 127.

Bereaved families were spotted sobbing and praying amid the anguish that echoed through the departures hall of an airport in southwestern South Korea on Monday as the harsh reality of the passenger jet that crash-landed over the weekend, sunk in.

All but two people on a Jeju Air plane carrying 175 passengers and six crew died after it crashed at the airport in Muan County just after 9 a.m. local time on Sunday – in what is the deadliest aviation disaster the country has seen in nearly 30 years.

Loved ones inside Muan International Airport wept as medics announced the names of the victims who had been identified. So far, 146 victims have been identified, while efforts are underway to name the remaining 33 bodies, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

In the soaring atrium that normally serves as the airport’s departure hall, scores of families huddled together, murmuring hushed prayers. Some were seen wrapped in each other’s embrace, weeping, while several monks spoke to gathered groups. Rows of yellow tents stood erected for people who had stayed overnight. Several relatives could be seen yelling at officials, demanding more information.

Investigators are working to pinpoint what may have caused the crash of Jeju Air flight 7C 2216, which was flying from Bangkok to Muan. South Korean officials confirmed on Monday that the pilot had reported a bird strike before he made the doomed emergency landing.

“The pilot reported an emergency declaration and go-around due to a bird strike,” said Kang Jung-hyun, a senior official at the transport ministry. The pilot said “mayday, mayday, mayday” three times and used the terms “bird strike” and “go-around,” the official said.

A “go-around” is an aviation term that means a landing is aborted when a plane nears a final approach and instead the pilot will instead increase speed and ascend before attempting another approach or diverting elsewhere.

Footage of Sunday’s crash broadcast by multiple South Korean news outlets showed that neither the back nor front landing gear was visible. Video showed the plane, a Boeing 737-800, sliding on its belly at high speed, hitting an earthen embankment and erupting in a fireball.