The tragic Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 plane crash that took place on Sunday, December 29, took the lives of 179 people on board after slamming into a concrete barrier. Only two crew members who were at the plane's tail were able to survive the deadliest plane crash in South Korea's history. Now, both of the survivors have spoken about what took place inside the plane before the fatal crash.
Videos by Wide Open Country
A flight attendant named Lee Mo, 33, was one of the survivors. Following his rescue, he was transported to Ewha Women's University Hospital in Seoul, according to the Daily Mail. Lee woke up disoriented and couldn't recall much of the accident. He only remembered him wearing his seatbelt, but he didn't remember anything after. Lee suffered a fractured left shoulder and several head injuries.
According to the hospital's director Joo Woong, Lee may suffer aftereffects that include full-body paralysis."We are conducting intensive observation and pain relief treatment in parallel," Woong said.
Smoke And Explosions
Another surviving flight attendant, a 25-year-old woman whose last name is Koo, was transported to Asan Medical Center, also in Seoul. There, contrary to Lee, she was able to recall some of the events that took place before the crash. "Smoke came out of one of the plane's engines and then it exploded," Koo reportedly said. She does not remember anything else.
The New York Times states that the plane's pilots alerted of a "potential bird strike." Loud explosions then took place, with evidence showing that bird ingestion could have happened. This, in turn, potentially damaged the plane's ability to deploy its landing gear or activate its wing flaps. Koo could be recalling that very same moment.
According to the hospital, Koo suffered scalp lacerations and ankle fractures. She is also "undergoing treatment for abdominal diagnosis. "There is no major threat to her life or anything, but we did not have time to ask about the accident," a hospital official told local outlets.
Muan Fire Chief Lee Jung-hyun shed some light on both Lee and Koo's rescue. Jung-hyun revealed that the plane's tail was the only part of the plane that was recognizable. The rest of the plane was "almost impossible to recognize," according to Jung-hyun, with rescuers unable to recognize "the rest of the fuselage."
According to the Daily Mail, only 141 of the 179 victims have been identified. Officials stated that some of the bodies were unrecognizable given the amount of damage they sustained during the crash.
