174 Victims of Jeju Air Plane Crash Have Been Identified

SEAToday.com, Muan - The Ministry of Agrarian Affairs, Infrastructure and Transport reported that 174 bodies from 179 fatalities of the Jeju Air plane crash in Muan, South Korea, have been identified so far.

Meanwhile, in a briefing to the families of the victims at Muan International Airport, located 288 kilometers south of Seoul, officials from the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs, Infrastructure and Transport said they continue to check the identities of the remaining five victims.

“Of the 32 people who failed to be identified through fingerprints, we managed to identify 17 of them through the first stage of DNA testing, and 10 more were identified through the second stage of DNA testing,” the ministry said.

“We are still confirming the identities of the other five victims as there are inconsistencies in their DNA.”

Four of the identified bodies have been handed over to their respective families, and funeral processions have begun in the victims' hometowns.

Previously, local officials said it would take up to 10 days to identify the bodies of all the deceased and hand over the bodies to their families.

Local authorities are also storing the bodies in a temporary cold storage at the hangar of Muan airport.

Meanwhile, a team of personnel from the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and aircraft manufacturer Boeing have been at the crash site to support the accident investigation process by South Korean authorities.

Only two people, both crew members, survived the Jeju Air plane crash on Sunday ( 12/29). The plane landed without wheels and failed to stop, crashing into the airport guardrail.

The crash killed 179 of the 181 passengers and crew on board.