Father mourns daughter lost in tragic Jeju Air crash, hopes to bring her body home

The Thai Embassy in Seoul has lowered its flag to half-mast for seven days as a mark of respect to the victims and their families of Sunday’s tragic plane crash that killed 179 people, including two Thai nationals.

The period of mourning began yesterday and will continue until January 4, according to Thai Ambassador to Seoul, Tanee Sangrat.

A Jeju Air plane, carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea, crashed upon arrival on Sunday, smashing into a barrier and bursting into flames, killing everyone on board except for two flight attendants, who were rescued from the wreckage.

Thai nationals Jongluk Duangmanee, 45, and Sirithon Chaue, 22, were among the victims of the worst airline disaster South Korean aviation history since the 1997 Korean Air crash in Guam, which killed more than 200.

Boonchuay Duangmanee, Jongluk's father, said at his home in Udon Thani province yesterday that his daughter was married to a South Korean and had been working in a factory in there for about seven years.

Photo: Boonchuay Duangmanee

“She usually returned to Thailand once a year. This time, she returned home earlier this month with her husband, who went back on December 14. I never thought that this would be the last time we would see each other when she left for South Korea," he said.

He wants to bring his daughter’s remains home for a funeral, so he can bid her farewell one last time.

Meanwhile, Sirithon was traveling to South Korea to visit her mother, who is also married to a South Korean. This was her second trip. A native of Chiang Rai province, Sirithon was studying Aviation Business Management at Bangkok University on a scholarship.

She would have completed her studies within the next three months and wished to work as a flight attendant.