A father and a son were on a crashed aircraft in Nepal

“My husband went there to have a great time with our son during his school vacation.”

Mrs. A, the wife of a 45-year-old soldier on a plane that crashed near Pokhara Airport in Nepal, could barely continue speaking properly during a phone call with a DongA Ilbo reporter on the 16th. An army sergeant, Mr. Yoo, and his 14-year-old son were on board.

Mr. A said that she had not found out about the plane accident until her acquaintance, after seeing a press report the day before, told her. “(My husband) received many awards while serving as a soldier and worked hard, almost like a workaholic.” Regarding her son, “He was always a good talker and bright kid,” she said, swallowing her tears.

Mr. Yoo was also working hard on self-development, as shown by his recent completion of the philosophy and humanitarian program that an organization provides. A person from the program pitied the situation, saying Mr. Yoo sent a text message to his colleagues, saying, “I am happy as I always feel thankful to others. I will be back safely with your support. I love you."

One of his friends said, “Yoo was the person who cleared snow in front of everybody when we were hiking. He was always a role model to others and never complained.”

Nepalese authorities, who have been searching the accident site for the second day, said that he was listed as confirmed dead on the same day. The son's survival was not confirmed. Nepalese authorities have now identified the bodies of 68 of the 72 people on board, of whom 26 have been identified. After confirming‎ the identity of the recovered body, the police plan to hand it over to the family

According to local media on this day, the Nepal aviation authority was reported to have secured the aircraft's black box, which will be the key to identifying the cause of the accident. Also, according to British and Indian media, a live video allegedly taken by an Indian from inside the aircraft was found on Facebook.

The one-and-a-half-minute video shows one of the passengers cheering, “Too much fun,” and then the plane tilts sharply to one side, after which the screen shakes, and the passengers scream. After that, the flame continues for about 30 seconds.

The Korean government launched a task force headquarters to protect Korean nationals overseas and dispatched consular assistants to the accident location. “We will spare no support in dealing with accidents moving forward,” a government official said.


71wook@donga.com · clearlee@donga.com