South Korean airport embankment in focus after deadly Jeju Air crash

Authorities identify victims and criticize runway design after deadly crash at Muan International Airport.

South Korea ramped up investigations on Tuesday (December 31, 2024) into the cause of its deadliest domestic air accident as police scrambled to identify victims, while families of those killed in this week's crash of a Jeju Air jet pushed for more details.

All 175 passengers and four of the six crew were killed when the Boeing 737-800 belly-landed and skidded off the end of the runway at Muan International Airport on Sunday, erupting in a fireball as it slammed into an embankment holding navigation equipment.

But remarks in the airport's operating manual, uploaded early in 2024, said the embankment was too close to the end of the runway and recommended that the location of the equipment be reviewed during a planned expansion.

A transport ministry official said authorities would need to check the document before replying to questions, however.

On Monday, South Korea's Acting President Choi Sang-mok ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country's entire airline operation.

Impatience rose on Tuesday among exhausted families gathered at the airport as they waited for the bodies of their loved ones to be released.

One bereaved relative, Park Han-shin, said the bodies being held in freezers were prepared for transfer to funeral homes but the process could take time, and urged others to stay patient.