"With Children" "Among Promotion Colleagues"... Three-Year-Old Also Victimized (Comprehensive)

Many Family Travelers on Christmas Vacation
Oldest Passenger is a Male Born in 1946

On the 29th, most of the passengers on the Jeju Air passenger plane that crashed at Muan International Airport in Jeonnam are presumed to have died, and it is known that there were 15 minor passengers among them.

According to the passenger list released by some media on that day, which included passengers' names, genders, birth years, nationalities, and seat numbers, the oldest passenger was a male born in 1946, and the youngest passenger was a boy born in 2021. There were 15 minor passengers under the age of 20 (born in 2004 or later), who were reported to be kindergarteners to elementary, middle, and high school students. It has been tentatively confirmed that all minor passengers were on the accident plane with their families.

At Muan International Airport, a Jeju Air passenger plane carrying 181 passengers collided with the outer wall of the runway during landing, causing a fire that resulted in a major disaster with most passengers dead. On the 29th, families of the victims are waiting in the waiting area of Muan International Airport in Jeollanam-do. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

The accident plane had a total of 181 people on board, including 175 passengers and 6 crew members. Among the passengers, there were 2 foreigners from Thailand, and the rest were all Koreans. In particular, Jeju Air has been operating the Bangkok route from Muan International Airport on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays since the 8th of this month, and it is presumed that many family travelers took trips during the Christmas holiday starting from the 24th.

The majority of passengers were travelers in their 40s and 50s. The Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education announced that 3 students from the region and 5 grade-5 officials from the education office were on board the plane. The identified students were one elementary school student from Mokpo and two high school students from Hwasun, who were siblings in the 1st and 3rd grades of high school, respectively. Among the five officials, three were promoted to grade 5 in 2019 and were visiting Bangkok for personal reasons, not official duties. Additionally, nine more students were identified by their birthdates among the passengers, and the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education is currently identifying their local schools. The fire authorities estimated that, except for the two crew members rescued so far, all others perished due to the severe damage to the fuselage caused by an explosive fire.

On the 29th, a Jeju Air passenger plane carrying 181 passengers collided with the outer wall of the runway while landing at Muan International Airport, causing a fire that resulted in a major disaster with most passengers dead. Firefighters are searching for missing persons among the wreckage of the accident aircraft on the runway at Muan International Airport, Jeonnam. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

Online, waves of mourning continue. Netizens left comments such as "There was even a baby born in 2021, it's so sad," "There were many elderly people around the age of parents, the shock is huge," and "I cried as soon as I saw it," expressing their sorrow.

Jeju Air has switched to a company-wide emergency response system. All functions of the website, which usually handles flight reservations, have been suspended and are now used as a channel for accident response announcements. They have also formed a support team for the bereaved families and are providing assistance to the victims and their families. Kim I-bae, CEO of Jeju Air, said, "We will do our utmost to quickly handle the accident and support the families of the passengers, and we will work with the government to determine the cause of the accident."

As of 7 p.m. on the same day, the Fire Agency announced, "There are 177 confirmed deaths and 2 missing persons." Jeonnam Province has set up a temporary morgue at the Muan International Airport site to store the bodies.