South Korea begins lifting Jeju Air wreckage after fatal crash

South Korean investigators on Friday began lifting the wreckage of the Jeju Air plane that crashed five days ago, killing 179 people in the worst aviation disaster on its soil, AFP reporters saw.

The flight was carrying 181 passengers and crew from Thailand to South Korea on Sunday when it issued a mayday call and belly-landed before slamming into a barrier, killing all aboard except two flight attendants.

The exact cause of the flight's crash is still unknown, but investigators have pointed to a bird strike, faulty landing gear, and an installation at the end of the runway that the plane struck as possible issues.

Using a large yellow crane, investigators began lifting sections of the plane's burned-out wreckage, AFP reporters near the crash site saw, including what appeared to be an engine.

"Today, we will lift the tail section of the plane," Na Won-ho, South Jeolla provincial police's head of investigations, told a press conference at Muan International Airport where the crash happened.

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"We expect there may be remains found in that section," Na said.

"For all that to be complete and to have the results, we must wait until tomorrow."

All 179 victims have been identified and some of the bodies have been released to families for funerals to begin.

But due to the nature of the crash, officials have warned that some of the bodies suffered extreme damage, and it was taking investigators time to piece them together, while also preserving crash site evidence.

More raids

Police had vowed to quickly determine the cause and responsibility for the disaster, while officers, soldiers and white-suited investigators combed the crash site.

But the transport ministry said it could take six months to three years to determine the precise cause of the crash.

Police conducted a series of raids on Thursday and Friday of the offices of Jeju Air and the Muan airport operator as they stepped up their probe.

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Police were securing evidence from the airport's localizer -- a concrete wall housing an antenna array -- as well as the communication record between the control tower and pilot shortly before the plane crash, Yonhap reported.

South Korea has also announced it will inspect all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by its carriers, focusing on the landing gear, which appears to have malfunctioned during the Sunday crash.

The investigation is headed by South Korean air safety officials, with the assistance of the US Federal Aviation Administration, which frequently aids with probes into global plane crashes.

Relatives of the victims have flooded to the crash site to pay their respects and collect the belongings of their loved ones.

The country's acting president, Choi Sang-mok, who has only been in office for a week, said all victims were identified and more bodies had been handed over to relatives so they could hold funerals.

Source: AFP