South Korea was in mourning Monday as investigators worked to determine the cause of a plane crash in Muan that killed 179 of the 181 people on board.
Acting President Choi Sang-mok appeared Monday at a memorial in Muan, about 290 kilometers south of Seoul, where he laid a flower and bowed in respect to the victims.
A senior official at South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport told reporters that officials planned to conduct a special investigation of all the Boeing 737-800 planes operating in the country.
The crashed plane’s flight data recorder will be sent to a facility in Seoul later this week for analysis, officials said, with personnel from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board taking part in the probe.
Some passengers still unidentified
Sunday’s crash in which the plane skidded off the runway, slammed into a concrete fence and burst into flames was one of South Korea’s deadliest aviation disasters.
As of early Monday, authorities were still trying to identify some of the victims.
Two people, both crew members, were pulled out of the wreckage alive.
“Only the tail part retains a little bit of shape, and the rest of [it] looks almost impossible to recognize,” Muan fire chief Lee Jung-hyun told reporters as he described what was left of the plane.
Lee added that investigators are examining bird strikes and weather conditions as possible factors in the incident.
President Joe Biden said the United States was ready to offer any assistance needed in the wake of the disaster.
“As close allies, the American people share deep bonds of friendship with the South Korean people and our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted by this tragedy. The United States stands ready to provide any necessary assistance,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement released Sunday, “The Secretary-General is deeply saddened by the news of a plane crash in Muan county in the Republic of Korea, which has claimed the lives of 179 people.
“He extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and expresses his solidarity with the people and Government of the Republic of Korea during this difficult time,” the statement said.
Boeing ‘ready to support’
Sunday’s crash was the worst aviation disaster involving a South Korean airline since 1997, when a Korean Air jet went down in Guam, killing more than 200 people.
Jeju Air issued an apology following the crash and promised to do its “utmost to manage the aftermath of the accident.”
Boeing said it was in touch with Jeju Air and was “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,” the company said in a statement.
Transport ministry officials said two Thai nationals were on board and the rest were believed to be South Koreans.
Officials in Thailand reported no issues with the plane when it left Bangkok.
U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this article. Some information in this report was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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