Authorities face difficulties in victim identification due to severe damages

[Anchor]

There is difficulty in the identification of the deceased due to the large explosion and impact during the landing process.

The Central Disaster Management Headquarters has set up a temporary mortuary at the site and has requested DNA testing from the National Forensic Service.

Reporter Choi Hye-rim has the story.

[Report]

At the accident site, only the tail of the aircraft remains due to the impact.

Police forensic teams and firefighters are installing barriers and are in the midst of searching for bodies.

The Central Disaster Management Headquarters has set up tents in a hangar at the airport to temporarily store the bodies of the recovered victims.

Tomorrow (Dec. 30), a refrigerated container is also scheduled to be installed.

Instead of moving the bodies to a hospital, the National Forensic Service is currently identifying the victims' identities at the scene.

The police are first collecting fingerprints from the bodies to confirm their identities.

However, it is reported that there are many damaged bodies, making it difficult to even confirm fingerprints in some cases.

[Kim Jong-soo/Head of Fire Administration Team, Muan Fire Station: "Due to the impact, parts of the runway were severely damaged, which is causing delays in the identification process."]

There was a significant shock during the landing process, and the explosion and separation of the aircraft caused passengers to be ejected.

[Fire Department Official: "The impact on the aircraft was so severe that the fuselage was separated, resulting in many bodies being damaged."]

DNA sampling from the families of the passengers has not yet been conducted.

The fire authorities explained that once the on-site recovery is completed, they plan to collect DNA from the families to compare with the DNA obtained from the bodies.

KBS News, Choi Hye-rim.