South Korea declares week-long mourning over Muang plane crash

Acting President of South Korea, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok announced seven days of national mourning in connection with the crash of the Boeing 737-800 airplane of Jeju Air. This was reported by Yonhap News Agency on Dec. 29.

"The government will declare a period of national mourning for seven days from today to January 4 inclusive," Choi Sang-mok said at a meeting of the Central Disaster and Security Headquarters held in Seoul.

South Korea's acting president promised that special air accident investigation bodies would investigate the cause of the incident and identify the culprits soon. He said that as soon as the results of the investigation are available, they will be immediately reported to the families of the victims.

The acting head of state declared Muang a special disaster zone. A support center will be set up at the international airport to provide comprehensive support to the bereaved families, Choi Sang-mok said.

In addition, all ministries, local governments and state agencies will lower the national flag and civil servants will wear mourning ribbons during the mourning week, the agency said.

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The crash of the Jeju Air plane while landing at Muang Airport was reported earlier in the day. Authorities are investigating the scene to determine the exact cause of the crash, and rescue operations are also underway. According to the airport authority, the plane crashed on landing on the fuselage due to landing gear failure before it could shed speed.

Rescue services have recovered 176 bodies of the victims from the crashed Boeing 737-800 Jeju Air plane.

South Korean authorities have recovered the black boxes from the plane that crashed at Muang Airport. A flight recorder and a sound recorder have been recovered.