Published : Oct. 19, 2013 - 15:08
Lao villagers look at part of a wing from the Lao Airlines plane crash two days before, along the bank of the Mekong river in Pakse town on October 18, 2013. (AFP-Yonhap News)
HANOI, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- A total of 32 bodies have been recovered from the Mekong River in the wake of a plane crash in Laos earlier this week, but it has yet to be determined if the three South Korean victims are among the remains, officials said Saturday.
The Lao airplane crashed into the river amid bad weather Wednesday, killing all 49 passengers and crewmembers on board, including three South Korean businessmen. Rescue workers have since pulled 32 bodies from the water, including two on Saturday.
The bodies, however, were unidentifiable due to decay and damages incurred from the impact of the crash, making it impossible to identify them without further forensic investigation, officials from the South Korean Embassy in Laos said.
Officials said it could take between a couple of days and two weeks depending on the condition of the bodies to identify them through DNA testing. A team of South Korean forensic officials have arrived in Laos to help identification efforts.
About 10 family members of the three South Korean victims also arrived in Laos earlier Saturday. They were scheduled to attend a briefing on the accident and visit the crash site.