Handover to Bereaved Families Begins, 9 Applications Received
On the 3rd, 42 victims of the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster began returning to their families. Support is also being provided for towing and spare key production to hand over the victims' vehicles left in the Muan International Airport parking lot. A significant number of the parked vehicles were brought by the victims who intended to travel and left their cars at the airport.
Earlier, reports stated that cars believed to have been parked by the victims were lined up in the B1 and B2 zones of the Muan Airport parking lot. It is known that many of these cars had frost heavily covering the hoods, front windshields, and areas where black boxes are located. Due to the weather, there were quite a few cars with frost so thick that the inside of the driver's seat was not visible.
The parking lot at Jeonnam Muan International Airport, which was closed after the Jeju Air accident, is filled with vehicles left by Jeju Air passengers, as well as vehicles of bereaved families and accident response personnel. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced in a briefing on the 2nd that they are identifying the vehicles of the deceased and preparing to assist the bereaved families. Yonhap News Agency
In response, on the 2nd, Park Sang-woo, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said at a briefing held at the Muan Airport terminal, "Some victims came by car and parked in the airport parking lot," adding, "There are cases where insurance companies or car keys are not available, and some are imported cars, so it may not be resolved all at once, but we will proceed with cooperation from insurance companies and manufacturers."
Subsequently, a vehicle handover support center was set up in front of Gate 3 on the 2nd floor of Muan Airport. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport began accepting applications for victim vehicle handover from 1 p.m. on the 3rd. They will first support vehicle transfers to the direct family members of the victims, and then review whether handover to extended family members and heirs is possible. Even if the bereaved families do not know the vehicle information, by signing a consent form for providing personal information, the authorities will verify the details and tow the car to the desired date and location.
It is reported that nine applications related to the handover of vehicles parked by victims at Muan International Airport before boarding the ill-fated plane have been received. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced plans to hand over one vehicle and continue handing over the remaining vehicles.
Meanwhile, as of the morning of the 4th, 70 of the 179 victims of the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster have returned to their families. The remaining 109 victims will also be handed over to their families starting late afternoon on the 4th, the seventh day since the disaster, once preparations for funeral procedures are completed. The Central Accident Response Headquarters of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport completed DNA analysis of all 179 victims by 5 p.m. the previous day. If the reconstruction work is completed by the morning, final confirmation and data organization will follow, making it possible to hand over all victims.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
