US and South Korea investigators to begin looking into cause of plane crash that left 179 dead
A team of US and South Korean investigators are to set to begin looking into the cause of the plane crash that left 179 people dead at Muan International Airport.
The disaster on Sunday is the worst plane crash in South Korea’s history – with the youngest victim a three-year-old boy, according to a list of passengers seen by local media outlets.
South Korea’s transport ministry has said the pilot reported that his aircraft had suffered a bird strike as he called a mayday before the tragedy.
The Jeju Air flight, a Boeing 737-800 jet, was carrying 175 passengers and six crew when it crashed at the airport in the south of the country after departing from Bangkok.
It was making a second attempt at a crash landing after its landing gear failed to open when it veered off a runway and struck a wall, bursting into flames.
Two crew members who were at the rear of the plane when it came down were the only survivors.
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Airplane seats and magazines strewn on runway
Relatives of those who were on board have gathered at the airport to await confirmation of the death of their loved ones.
Many of the bodies can only be identified through DNA testing and fingerprints.
Among those that have been already been identified are four bodies that will be released to funeral homes following consultations with their bereaved families, South Korea’s ministry of land, infrastructure and transport (MOLIT) has said.
As it happened: South Korea plane crash updates
A woman prays at a memorial altar for the victims of the Jeju Air crash. REUTERS/Kim Hong-ji
Three of the bodies have been released to funeral homes in the southwestern city of Gwangju while one has been released to a home in the capital in Seoul, the ministry added.
It comes as the remaining 175 bodies are being kept in 11 refrigerated containers in a temporary morgue at the airport, which will be closed until 5am local time on 7 January while the accident investigation takes place.
The relatives of all those who died are being supported by more than 60 psychological experts, MOLIT said.
Meanwhile, a team of 11 investigators from South Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board will be looking into the cause of the disaster with eight investigators from the US.
The American team is made up of one investigator from the US Federal Aviation Administration, three investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and four people from the aircraft manufacturer Boeing.
It comes as an analysis centre is checking the condition of the aircraft’s black box.
MOLIT said: “A comprehensive investigation is being conducted on the maintenance history of major systems such as engines and landing gears, and the status of operation and maintenance records of the aircraft for six airlines operating the same type of aircraft as the accident aircraft.”
Read more:
Stillness and shock after South Korea’s plane tragedy
Expert says concrete wall plane crashed into is ‘verging on criminal’
Rescuers work at the wreckage of the aircraft. Pic: Reuters
Birds may have ‘struck engine’
The pilot’s mayday call came as a passenger had texted a relative to say a bird was stuck in the wing of the plane, News1 reported.
Their final message was said to have been: “Should I say my last words?”
Just two days before the crash, a passenger claiming to have travelled on the same plane said it had an engine shut down as people were boarding, according to Sky’s correspondent in the region, referencing Yonhap News Agency.
A passenger who boarded the Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 said: “I was on the same plane at the time and the engine shut off several times.”
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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