Families mourn after plane crash in South Korea

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

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

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

“My heart hurts so much.”

The family was among the passengers on flight 7C2216 from Bangkok to Muan International Airport, which veered off the runway after landing crashed into a wall shortly after 09:00 local time (00:00 GMT) on Sunday.

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

Four crew members were killed, two were rescued alive from the rubble.

The 179 passengers were aged between three and 78, but most were between 40, 50 and 60, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported. Two Thai nationals were among the dead, while the others were believed to be South Koreans, authorities said.

Five of the fatalities were children under the age of ten, while the youngest passenger, a young boy, was only three years old.

According to Yonhap News Agency, a man in his 60s said five of his family members from three generations were on the plane, including his sister-in-law, his daughter, her husband and their young children.

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

One victim’s cousin, Jongluk Doungmanee, told BBC Thai she was “shocked” when she heard the news.

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

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

A 71-year-old father, Jeon Je-young, told Reuters that his daughter Mi-Sook, identified by her fingerprints, was on her way home after traveling to Bangkok for the celebrations with friends.

“My daughter, who is only in her 40s, felt the same way,” he said, adding that he last saw her on Dec. 21, when she brought some food and next year’s calendar to his house — that would be their last moment together.

Mi-Sook leaves behind a husband and a teenage daughter.

“This is incredible,” Jeon said.

One woman said her sister, who was going through a difficult time, went to Thailand when life began to improve for her.

“She went through so many difficulties and went traveling because her situation was just starting to improve,” she told Yonhap News Agency.

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

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

“When I woke up, I was already saved,” he told doctors at the hospital, according to director Ju Woong, who spoke during a news conference.

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

The other survivor, a 25-year-old flight attendant surnamed Koo, was being treated at Asan Medical Center in eastern Seoul, Yonhap added.

She suffered head and ankle injuries but is reportedly in stable condition.

It is not yet known exactly what caused the disaster, but several eyewitnesses said they could tell the plane was in trouble before it crashed.

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

“I went outside and saw thick, dark smoke. Afterwards, I heard a loud explosion that was 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 here. It’s traumatic.”

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

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

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

A firefighter sent to the scene told Reuters he had never seen anything “of this magnitude.”

BBC reporters on the scene said the sounds of crying family members echoed through the terminal on Sunday evening, while others were upset at how long it was taking to identify the bodies.

Hundreds remain at Muan International Airport waiting for their relatives to be identified.

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

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

But many questions remain unanswered for all the relatives of the deceased – not least the question of 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 concrete track. Why couldn’t the pilot land there instead?”

He says his daughter Mi-Sook was almost home and saw no reason to call and leave a final message.

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

Additional reporting by BBC Thai’s Thanyaporn Buathong