South Korean investigators on Friday started lifting the wreckage of the Jeju Air plane that crashed a few days ago, killing 179 people.
DAILY POST reports that the flight was carrying 181 passengers and crew from Thailand to South Korea on Sunday when it issued a mayday call and belly-landed before slamming into a barrier, killing all aboard except two flight attendants.
The exact cause of the crash still remains unknown, but investigators have pointed to a bird strike, faulty landing gear, and an installation at the end of the runway that the plane struck as possible issues.
Investigators, using a large yellow crane, began lifting sections of the plane’s burned-out wreckage.
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The police head of investigations at the South Jeolla provincial, Na Won-ho, told a press conference at Muan International Airport where the crash happened that they have begun the lifting.
“Today, we will lift the tail section of the plane. We expect there may be remains found in that section.
“For all that to be complete and to have the results, we must wait until tomorrow,” he said.
All 179 victims have been identified and some of the bodies have been released to families for funerals to begin.
However, due to the nature of the crash, officials have warned that some of the bodies suffered extreme damage, saying that it was taking investigators time to piece them together, while also preserving crash site evidence.
