Officials have confirmed 179 people died in the Jeju Air flight that crashed and erupted into a fireball when the aircraft skidded along the runway and smashed into a wall
The only two survivors of the doomed Jeju Air flight into South Korea are being treated in hospital after the crash and subsequent explosion killed everyone else onboard.
One of the flight attendants, who was stationed at the rear of the plane to tend to passengers awoke in hospital following the crash earlier today. The Yonhap news agency said the 33-year-old man, known as Lee, was rushed to hospital near Mokpo, just south of Seoul, but transferred him to the university hospital in the capital.
Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital director Ju Woong said he told staff: “When I woke up, I had already been rescued.” He added Lee was “fully able to communicate” and that there was no indication of memory loss.
He remains in intensive care after he was diagnosed with having suffered multiple fractures and being at a risk of paralysis. A female flight attendant, aged 25, is also understood to be the only other survivor of South Korea’s worst air disaster in decades.
The South Korean government has started releasing some of the names of those confirmed to have died in the crash. Some of the families that had gathered protested the names did not align with those that had been released previously, according to The Korea Herald.
Others complained that they did not receive enough information about what happened for several hours. One family member, who was not named by the outlet, said: “Is it too much to ask for a list of the dead to be put up clearly along with the current status of the accident?”
Most of the passengers on board with the exception of two known Thai nationals were aboard the flight. The Jeju Air flight left Bangkok for Muan International Airport earlier today.
Video of the crash showed the plane appeared to have an issue deploying its landing wheels before the belly of the aircraft skidded along the runway. Seconds later the aircraft smashed into a wall at the end of the runway and exploded.
South Korean officials said some of the passengers were thrown from the plane in the disaster. Boeing, which made the 737-800 used by Jeju Air said in a statement: “We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding flight 2216 and stand ready to support them. We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew.”
An investigation has been launched into what caused the fatal crash. Initial reports said a bird strike, where a bird interferes with a plane during take-off, the flight itself and landing occurs, and poor weather conditions might have had an impact of the aircraft and contributed to the crash.
