SEOUL: Questions grew on Tuesday (Dec 31) over the crash of a Jeju Air jetliner as police rushed to identify victims and as families of those killed in the deadliest plane crash on South Korean soil pressed authorities for more information.
The National Police Agency said it is making all-out efforts by adding personnel and rapid DNA analysers to shorten the identification period. Five bodies remained unidentified as of Tuesday.
Family members gathered at the country’s Muan International Airport, where the crash occurred, have pushed for faster identification and more information from authorities.
All 175 passengers and four of the six crew were killed when a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 belly-landed and skidded off the end of the runway, erupting in a fireball as it slammed into a wall. Two crew members were pulled out alive.
South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok on Monday ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country’s entire airline operation as investigators sought to find out what caused the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil.
The Transportation Ministry said representatives from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Federal Aviation Administration, and aircraft manufacturer Boeing have joined the investigative body and plan to meet in Muan on Tuesday to discuss future schedule.
The US team led by the NTSB is on the ground in South Korea providing assistance, board chair Jennifer Homendy said in an interview. The NTSB said in a statement it sent three investigators including people with specialties in operational factors and airworthiness to South Korea to assist the investigation.
“If we need more specialists we will send them,” Homendy said.
Source: CNA
