Jeju Air crash: 141 victims identified; South Korea declares national mourning

The Star

The Jeju Air pilot declared a mayday after reporting a bird strike moments before the aircraft crashed, South Korea's transport ministry confirmed on Monday (Dec 30).  As of Monday morning, authorities had identified 141 victims, with DNA testing underway to confirm the identities of those severely burned in the explosion.  Read more at https://tinyurl.com/2xx5z9ps  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00The Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 pilot declared a May Day after reporting a bird strike moments

00:09before the aircraft crashed, South Korea's Transport Ministry confirmed on Monday.

00:14The

00:38Jeju Air Boeing, carrying 175 passengers and six crew members, belly landed and

00:44skidded off the runway at Muan International Airport, erupting into a fireball upon striking

00:49a wall.

00:51All but two on board were killed.

00:54Two flight attendants survived the crash and are being treated at local hospitals.

00:58Investigators are examining whether the localizer antenna, positioned on an embankment at the

01:04end of the runway to assist in landings, contributed to the accident.

01:08The crash claimed the lives of 179 people, including mostly residents of the Geola region,

01:15returning from vacations in Thailand and two Thai nationals.

01:19As of Monday morning, authorities had identified 141 victims, with DNA testing underway to

01:26confirm the identities of those severely burned in the explosion.

01:30The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport reported that 165 bodies have been moved to

01:37a temporary mortuary at the airport in South Geola province.

01:41Families will be notified as identities are confirmed and autopsies are completed.

01:47Jeju Air Flight 7C-2216 crash-landed at around 9 a.m. on Sunday, failing to deploy its landing

01:54gear for reasons yet to be determined.

01:57The explosion and fire from the crash make it difficult to identify some passengers,

02:02and officials are using family DNA for confirmation.

02:05In response to the tragedy, South Korea's acting president, Choi Sang-mok, declared

02:10the crash site a special disaster zone.

02:23He visited the site, offered condolences to victims' families, and pledged full government

02:28support for recovery efforts.

02:31A seven-day national mourning period has been declared, lasting until midnight on Jan. 4.

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