There Was No Miracle

The wreckage of a Cambodian plane that was missing for three days was found on June 27. There were no survivors among the 22 people aboard, including 13 South Koreans.

According to the last communication between the pilot and the control tower, the Sihanoukville airport sent a warning sign that the plane’s altitude was too low. The pilot on the plane may have disregarded that warning, which may have led to the crash.

The crashed plane was found at 7:15 a.m. on June 27 atop Bokor Mountain’s northeast slope, 50km northeast of Sihanoukville.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen officially confirmed that there were no survivors from the plane at a news conference.

With regard to the remarks from Cambodia, Kim Bong-hyun, chief consul for Koreans living abroad, said, “We have secured the identities of 13 South Koreans; except an unidentified body, 21 corpses were found in the plane.”

According to AFP, medical workers in search and rescue teams said that although the right wing of the plane had been severely damaged, the body of the plane was not broken, and that kept the plane from exploding, adding it is not confirmed whether the people on board were killed by the crash or died while waiting for rescue.

Cambodian police spotted the crash site and the Cambodian air force carried the corpses to Cambodia-Russia Friendship National Hospital in Phnom Penh, which is the capital of Cambodia.

The Foreign and Trade Ministry will discuss funeral procedures with bereaved families right after investigators from the National Institute of Scientific Investigation (NISI) finish working on identifying the bodies on the plane.

Chief consul, Kim Bong-hyun announced that, “We have consulted with the victims’ families about carrying corpses to Korea by a special plane in order to take them to Korea as soon as possible, and we will support a joint service for the dead and specific funeral services after the families view the bodies.”

Regarding the plane crash, President Roh ordered, “After our medical team finally confirms the identities of the bodies, the foreign ministry and related organizations should make assurances the remaining families.”

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