Efforts to recover Jeju Air victim’s bodies continue day and night

[Anchor]

The victims' bodies of the disaster have now been all returned to their families.

Since the recovery of the bodies and identification was not easy, the bereaved families expressed their heartfelt gratitude to the public officials who worked tirelessly day and night.

This is Son Min-joo reporting.

[Report]

From the impact of crashing into a concrete embankment to the fire caused by the explosion.

There were great concerns that recovering the victims and identifying them would not be easy right after the accident.

There were more than 30 victims whose fingerprints could not be collected.

[Na Won-oh/Head of Investigation Division, Jeonnam Police Agency/Second day after the accident/Dec. 30, 2024: "By next Wednesday, we should have some results. It will take about ten days."]

The families' desire to find their loved ones as soon as possible was burning.

[Lee Hyuk/Chairman of the Bereaved Families' Funeral Committee/Dec. 30, 2024: "They said they moved the bodies (to the refrigerated container) during the day, but when I went to check two hours ago, they were just starting that work..."]

The recovery authorities decided to mobilize all available resources.

They secured additional DNA analyzers and completed the identification process in four days.

However, most of the bereaved families could not leave the airport.

This was because the DNA analysis required for body restoration and autopsy at the National Forensic Service was expected to take ten days.

[Lee Hyuk/Chairman of the Bereaved Families' Funeral Committee/Jan. 3: "I urged them to reinforce personnel for at least two days so that it can be done quickly..."]

Twice a day, DNA samples were transported by helicopter to the National Forensic Service headquarters, and 20 forensic doctors and examiners worked overnight to expedite the autopsy and examination.

About 140 funeral directors assisted in the recovery of the victims' bodies.

Thanks to these efforts, all victims were able to return to their families on the ninth day after the accident.

The final briefing for the bereaved families.

[Park Han-shin/Representative of the Bereaved Families' Association/Yesterday: "Members of the National Assembly, please step back for a moment, and those government officials who worked hard, please come forward a little."]

The bereaved families bowed in gratitude for the swift recovery of the bodies.

[Park Han-shin/Representative of the Bereaved Families' Association/Yesterday: "They couldn't go home for a week, and thanks to their efforts, we were able to recover our loved ones' bodies very quickly. On behalf of the bereaved families, I would like to express my gratitude to these individuals."]

This is KBS News, Son Min-joo.