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full screen Flowers and letters in memory of the plane crash victims at Muan airport. Photo: Ahn Young-Joon/AP/TT
Investigators have begun inspecting the so-called black boxes after the deadly plane crash in South Korea. But an important part is missing, which could put a damper on the investigation, reports the BBC.
The two black boxes – the sound recorder that records sounds from the cockpit and the flight recorder that, among other things, records the plane’s height, speed and direction of travel – have been found.
But the flight recorder is missing an important contact, which can make it more difficult to get answers to why the plane crashed.
Relatives of the 179 people who lost their lives in the accident have been waiting for information inside the airport since Sunday. The atmosphere has become increasingly agitated as the identification of the bodies drags on, reports several media.
But on Tuesday, the authorities began to release the first bodies to relatives, after difficult work in identifying many of them.
– Of the 179 victims, four have been handed over to bereaved relatives, announced the country’s transport minister Park Sang-Woo, on the spot at Muan airport according to AFP.
– For 28 victims, whose identities have been confirmed and autopsies completed, we will allow funeral procedures to begin from 2pm today with the consent of their families.
According to the local television station KBC, nine of the dead belonged to the same family. One of them was the plane’s oldest passenger, who was on the first trip of his life with his wife, two daughters, a son-in-law and four grandchildren.
A group of investigators from the United States, including representatives from Boeing, has arrived in South Korea to assist in the work.