A 33-year-old flight attendant, one of just two survivors of the Jeju Air plane crash in South Korea that killed 179 people, is awake and talking to medical staff, according to a hospital official.
The survivor, identified only by his surname Lee, told doctors he had “already been saved” when he regained consciousness after Sunday’s fiery crash at Muan International Airport, said Ju Woong, director of Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital. during a press conference on Monday.
Lee and another flight attendant on Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, identified by her surname Koo, were the only ones aboard the plane to survive what authorities said was South Korea’s deadliest plane crash in decades and one of the worst in aviation history.
Firefighters and rescue personnel work near the wreckage of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 plane after the plane crashed and burst into flames at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla province, Dec. 29, 2024.
Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images
The 25-year-old Koo is reportedly in stable condition at a different hospital than the one where Lee is being treated. Koo suffered injuries to his ankle and head, medical staff at the hospital told Yonhap News Agency. The medical staff who treated her declined to answer further questions about her condition.
Ju said Lee is being treated in the intensive care unit for multiple fractures.
He said Lee is “fully able to communicate.”
“There is no indication of memory loss or anything like that yet,” Ju said.
The wreckage of the Jeju Air plane that skidded off the runway and crashed lies at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, on December 30, 2024.
Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
The hospital director said Lee is under special care because of the possibility of total paralysis.
Ju said he did not ask Lee about the details of the crash, saying he did not think it would be helpful in the patient’s recovery.
Lee was initially taken to a hospital in Mokpo before being transferred to Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital.
The crash took place just before 9 local time Sunday at Muan International Airport after the air traffic control tower cleared the flight crew to land on a south-to-north runway, according to an official timeline from the Korean Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport.
Workers operate at the site of a plane that crashed after skidding off the runway at Muan International Airport, in Muan, South Korea, on December 30, 2024.
Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
Three minutes later, the air traffic control tower issued a warning about a possible bird strike, the Ministry of Transport says. About two minutes after this warning, a pilot sent a distress signal saying: “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, bird strike, bird strike, go around,” the ministry said.
The plane ascended and made a 180-degree turn before descending from the north side, crash-landing and crashing into a wall at 9:03 a.m., the ministry said.
The plane, a Boeing 737-800, skidded along a runway, crashed into a wall and burst into flames, officials said. A total of 181 people were on board.
The plane had originated before dawn on Sunday at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand, according to Flightradar24, a flight tracker.
An official cause of the crash is under investigation by South Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Commission.
