Fire authorities confirmed on the morning of the 29th that 179 people died and 2 were rescued in the Jeju Air passenger plane accident at Muan Airport in South Jeolla Province. The fatalities included 84 men, 85 women, and 10 individuals whose gender has not been identified. The plane carried a total of 181 people, including 175 passengers and 6 crew members. The fate of all passengers has been confirmed.
According to the National Fire Agency, as of 8:38 p.m. on that day, the identities of 88 out of the 179 deceased had been confirmed. To expedite the identification process, a situation room was set up on the second floor of the international terminal at Muan Airport around 9 p.m., and personnel from the National Forensic Service were stationed to start collecting DNA from the bereaved families. The authorities have informed the families that it takes about a day to confirm identities through DNA comparison.
According to the authorities, among the 175 passengers, there were 82 men and 93 women. The youngest passenger was a 3-year-old boy, and the oldest was a 78-year-old man. By age group, the 50s had the most passengers at 40, followed by 60s (39), 40s (32), 70s (24), 30s (16), 20s (10), teens (9), and under 10 years old (5). There were two Thai nationals, both women in their 20s and 40s.
The two surviving individuals were a man and a woman, both reported to be conscious. Both were crew members and were found injured at the detached tail section of the aircraft. The male crew member, Mr. Lee (33), was initially transferred to Mokpo Korea Hospital and then to Ewha Seoul Hospital. The female crew member, Ms. Koo (25), received treatment at Mokpo Central Hospital before being moved to Asan Hospital in Seoul. They were responsible for passenger services in the rear section of the aircraft.
Fire authorities set up a temporary mortuary at the site in Muan Airport. Jeju Air secured accommodation near the airport for the families of the deceased. South Jeolla Province plans to establish a joint memorial altar at Muan Sports Park. Additionally, provincial officers will be designated to manage the families individually.