The Investigation Team Successfully Identify 200 Victims Of The Jeju Air Tragedy

Chairman of the South Korean National Assembly, Woo Won-shik, while placing flowers at the altar to commemorate Jeju Air victims. (Wikimedia Commons/National Assembly)

JAKARTA - The investigation team that handled the Jeju Air plane crash managed to identify the owner of more than 200 items from around 1,000 items collected at the accident site.

Among them are items that did not catch fire, including suitcases with name labels, which will soon be returned to the family.

According to sources on Wednesday, a joint investigation team consisting of police, firefighters and special disaster rescue units from the Special War Command analyzed personal items found from the scene.

"Maybe there are more items on site, and we are conducting a thorough search," a team official said.

"Some items may soon be shown to the family," he added.

The Boeing 737-800 aircraft belonging to Jeju Air airline with flight number 7C2216 and registration of HL8088 from Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Thailand had a fatal accident while landing at Muan International Airport, South Korea on December 29.

The plane carrying 175 passengers and six crew members on the flight turned into fireball after making an emergency landing and hitting the wall. Only two crew members survived the incident.

Although the devastating accident left only a few intact bodies of the victims, the team managed to find and identify many items as the victims' last property.

Most of the items identified were suitcases with name labels, while other items, such as clothes, shoes and pens, were still under verification.

On the other hand, items without clear identification will undergo further DNA testing, which could delay returning them to the family.

In addition, the investigation team also managed to find cellphones belonging to several victims which were partially intact. These phones will undergo forensic analysis in front of the victim's family. The police plan to use the data for investigative purposes.

Meanwhile, items deemed important to reveal the cause of the accident are being analyzed by the authorities. Previously, the family had asked for the latest information about the whereabouts of the victim's personal belongings.