While hundreds of rescuers managed to bring the fire under control and combed the plane, only two survivors, members of the crew, were identified, out of the 181 passengers.
“One of my sons was on board this flight, he has yet to be identified,” worries an old man in an airport lounge, preferring to withhold his name.
At the crash site, only the crackling of cameras and the voices of journalists are heard while near the tarmac, we can see remains of duty-free brochures, sanitary gloves worn by the crew and the charred tail. of the plane. A yellow crane lifts the device to allow the search to be extended.
The families, in tears or speechless, found themselves on the first floor of the airport, looking for news of their loved ones.
Many of the passengers, all Koreans except two Thais, were returning home after their vacation, like Jo’s sister. “My younger sister flew to paradise today,” whispers Jo, 65, gray hat on her head and mask on her mouth. “My husband is checking to see if she has been identified.”
The notice boards which usually indicate departures and arrivals now list the victims, with their dates of birth and their nationalities. In shock, a woman was carried on a stretcher after fainting.
According to authorities, the youngest passenger was three years old and the oldest was 78 years old. Five children under the age of ten died.
Messages exchanged between a passenger and his child were widely reported in the local media. “Wait, a bird is stuck in the wing of the plane. Impossible to land now. Should I share my last wishes?”, indicates the last message from the passenger, sent at 9:01 a.m. “Why can’t I call you?!”, the child replies at 9:37 a.m. His message was not read.
Unprecedented air disaster in South Korea
On Sunday, South Korean television stations stopped the end-of-year series to go live on the drama and a minute of silence was observed at sporting events across the country.
This is an unprecedented air disaster for South Korea, which has also been going through a serious political crisis since President Yoon Suk Yeol attempted, in early December, to proclaim martial law, leading to his dismissal.
The country has its third leader in less than a month: the interim president in place since mid-December, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, was in turn dismissed on Friday, with MPs accusing him of having tried to obstruct the investigation into his predecessor’s coup.
The new interim head of state, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, visited Muan in the afternoon and chaired an emergency government meeting.
Due to the accident, civil society organizations said they were considering postponing major protests intended to put pressure on judges to validate Mr. Yoon’s dismissal.
The tarmac at Muan airport will remain closed this week while investigators try to determine the cause of the accident, authorities said.
