A passenger plane crashed at the Muan International Airport in South Korea while landing, killing almost everyone on board, barring two. Reportedly, the aviation disaster was caused when apparently the front landing gear failed to deploy. Footage captured the plane landing and then crashing into a wall, before bursting into flames. Victims of the harrowing incident have been named and pictured for the first time. Among them is a three-year-old who was killed while returning home from his first foreign trip. The Jeju Air flight was arriving from the Thai capital, Bangkok, with 175 passengers and six crew.
According to news.com.au, the three-year-old’s photo was shared by his parents, Kang Ko, 43 and his wife, 37-year-old Jin Lee Seon, during their vacation. The couple had shared pictures from the family holiday overseas, including one where the kid is seen looking out the plane window.
The photo was shared with a caption that appears heartwrenching in the context. “My son is going abroad for the first time on a night flight, and his first passport has no stamp,” it read. The post also contained several other pictures from the trip, with a caption about the places the family had visited in Thailand. Reportedly, among the 179 killed, five kids were under the age of 10.
According to Korea Herald, Kang Ko worked at the promotions department for the Kia Tigers professional baseball team. After the tragic incident, people poured in tribute for Ko and his family.
“I’ve been pressing ‘like’ for pictures of my friend, his wife, and their 3-year-old son, having great time in Thailand. … It gives me great pain, and my condolences goes to all the bereaved family members (of the victims),” wrote Retired pitcher Kim Byung-hyun on Instagram.
Sportscaster Jeong Woo-yeong of SBS Sports also paid a tribute and wrote, “He (Koh) was great at his work, and the entire baseball broadcast team liked him. Me among them, of course. … I want to pay condolences for him, his family, and the Tigers.”
“Will they be put back together?”
Scenes of grieving family members outside the airport have left the world heartbroken. According to the Sun, a middle-aged man, desperate to see the body of his loved one, asked the police, “Can you promise that they will be put back together?” Reportedly, authorities have recovered more than 600 body parts from the site of the horror crash.
Ground control issued a bird strike warning to the Boeing 737-800 plane after it initially failed to land. The pilot reportedly issued a distress signal before the plane landed without its front gear opening and crashed.
