Yesterday’s tragedy in South Korea comes after the country’s president Yoon Suk Yeol has been suspended after he declared martial law at the start of this month. MPs have since voted to impeach him.

Yesterday, Yoon Suk Yeol offered "deep condolences" to the families of those who died in the plane crash.

Our BBC team at the Muan International Airport has seen acting president Choi Sang-mok in the terminal, shaking hands and consoling families.

Earlier on, the acting president ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country’s entire airline operation system.

Jake Kwon
Reporting from Muan International Airport

Warning: This post contains graphic details

The local police official - called Na - told families waiting in the airport that they will have more results tomorrow morning.

Some families asked him why five bodies had been released, while the remaining 173 victims have not been returned to their grieving relatives.

Na replied that the five bodies released were the only ones that were intact.

“Can you promise that they will be put back together?” one man asked Na, following the news that the bodies of many victims are very badly damaged.

Some of these families have camped out overnight in emergency tents, which have been put up in the airport's departure hall, providing some privacy.

Jake Kwon
Reporting from Muan International Airport

At Muan International Airport, support is arriving for families awaiting news of their relatives. As a reminder, all 175 passengers on the plane and four of the crew died in the crash.

Aid materials are stacking up everywhere, and the arrivals hall is packed with workers from various organisations.

They have set up rows of booths handing out ramen, water, fruits and tissues, while workers busy themselves unpacking boxes from around the country.

In the departures hall upstairs, the atmosphere is more muted and sombre; this is where most families are.

Government officials and reporters busily come and go as families of the crash victims sit listlessly around their tents.

Jake Kwon
Reporting from Muan International Airport

Warning: This post contains graphic details

We also spoke to Shin Gyu-ho, 64, who has lost his two grandsons and son-in-law.

Sitting on a plastic chair where the briefings are held, he tells us that he is frustrated that the identification process is taking so long.

He wanted to go up to the front of the briefing and break the speakers several times, he says.

He was told while his son-in-law was intact for identification, his two grandchildren, (sophomore and senior of high school) were too scattered to be recognised.

He says he will wait right by the briefing spot so he will hear the news of his grandchildren as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, his daughter and granddaughter are in the privacy tent because “they cannot hold themselves together”.

South Korea has launched a "comprehensive inspection" of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country's carriers, an official says.

In total, 101 aircraft, operated by six airlines using the same model as the plane that crashed on Sunday, will be "thoroughly reviewed", according to deputy minister for civil aviation, Joo Jong-wan.

He adds that the inspections would last until 3 January.

We've also heard from the United States, who have confirmed they will help South Korea's aviation authority with its investigation.

Since the plane crash on Sunday, we've been hearing from some of the grieving families who are gathering at the airport awaiting answers from officials.

The BBC spoke to Maeng Gi-Su, whose nephew and his nephew's two sons were aboard the plane on their way back from a festive trip to Thailand.

Instead, it ended in tragedy when all three died on the Jeju Air plane that crash-landed in South Korea on Sunday morning, killing 179 of the 181 people onboard.

"I can't believe the entire family has just disappeared," Maeng, 78, told the BBC. "My heart aches so much."

One man in his sixties said five of his family members spanning three generations had been on the plane, including his sister-in-law, his daughter, her husband and their young children, according to Yonhap news agency.

Image source, Pornphichaya Chalermsin

The cousin of one of the two Thai nationals who died on the plane, Jongluk Doungmanee, told BBC Thai she was "shocked" when she heard the news.

"I had goosebumps. I couldn't believe it," Pornphichaya Chalermsin said.

Jongluk had been living in South Korea for the past five years working in the agriculture industry. She usually travelled to Thailand twice a year during the holidays to visit her ailing father and two children - aged 7 and 15 - from a former marriage.

She had spent over two weeks this time with her husband, who had returned to South Korea earlier in December.

Read on for more on how eyewitnesses to the crash saw “thick, dark smoke” followed by an explosion when the plane got into trouble.

Jean Mackenzie
Reporting from Muan International Airport

Warning: This post contains graphic details

Hundreds of families members are still camped out at the airport waiting for answers, and to see the bodies of their loved ones.

They are angry they’ve still not been able to see the bodies and are shouting at an official.

He is sparing no details explaining the reason they have not been able to release the bodies is because they are very badly damaged, with most of them not whole.

They are sorting through more than 600 body parts, trying to match them together.

They are taking their time as they want to avoid making any mistakes.

Forensic teams are still working today to collect more body parts and tissues.

Upon hearing these details some of the family members listening into the briefing started crying.

Most are sitting here in stunned silence, exhausted.

Image source, Reuters

Good morning, we're relaunching our live coverage following the worst aviation accident on South Korean soil, which left 179 people dead on Sunday.

All 175 passengers and four members of the crew were killed when the Boeing 737-800 crash-landed at Muan International Airport. Two members of the flight crew survived and were taken to hospital.

Warning: This page will contain graphic details

Frustrated families of the victims have gathered at the airport as they wait for the bodies of their loved ones to be released, with many of them camping out overnight.

Officials have continued to examine the debris in the aftermath of the crash. Acting President Choi Sang-mok has arrived at the airport this morning to meet with the families of the victims.

The South Korean government has declared a national mourning period for the next seven days.

Image source, Getty Images

All 175 passengers and four members of crew on a Jeju Air flight have died after the plane crash-landed at Muan International Airport in South Korea.

Two survivors, both crew members, were pulled from the wreckage of the Boeing 737-800.

Footage shows the plane landing without its wheels, skidding along the runway, and crashing into a wall in a fiery explosion.

The flight, which had departed from Bangkok, Thailand, was carrying 181 people.

The BBC spoke to a man who says he lost three family members, and the cousin of one of the two Thai nationals on board.

The South Korean government has declared a national mourning period for the next seven days.

An investigation is under way. Here’s what we know so far about what may have caused the crash.

We are closing our live coverage now. You can read more on this story here, and watch the moments before the crash here.

A team from the US will help South Korea's aviation authority with its investigation.

The group includes investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Boeing, and the Federal Aviation Administration, according to the NTSB.

King Charles III says he and the Queen are "deeply saddened to learn of the horrific air accident at Muan, which resulted in such grievous loss of life.

"As the people of the Republic of Korea mourn this disaster, the families and loved ones of all the victims are in our prayers."

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also sent his "deepest condolences" to the victims of the plane crash.

"I pay tribute to the work of the emergency responders and my thoughts are with the people of the Republic of Korea and Thailand at this terrible time," he says.

Ben Hatton
Live reporter

Image source, Dirk Weinrich

We’ve been reporting today that a bird strike might have played a role in the plane crash.

Aviation expert Chris Kingswood, who has over 40 years’ experience and has flown the same type of aircraft involved in the crash, says the footage doesn’t clearly show the cause of the incident.

However, he notes the plane was without its landing gear and wasn't using its flaps in the expected way, suggesting that "everything happened really quite quickly".

"You would normally be forced into that kind of situation if you lose both engines," he says. "A commercial aeroplane can fly reasonably well and safely on one engine."

He adds that altitude is crucial if a bird strike damages both engines, as pilots at low altitude would face "a huge number of decisions in a very short space of time".

There’s an alternative system to operate both the landing gear and flaps if the engines fail, but according to Kingswood: "If they were at a relatively low altitude, just several thousand feet, then they've really got to focus on flying the aeroplane and finding somewhere safe to put it down."

As a reminder, the investigation into the cause of the accident is still ongoing, and the BBC cannot confirm the exact reason for the plane crash.

Image source, Reuters

A restaurant owner near the airport says he feels "devastated" after the accident.

Speaking to the Reuters news agency, Im Young-Hak says he heard a "bang" at about 09:00 local time.

"At first, I thought it was an oil tanker accident as we often see a lot of oil tankers nearby," he says.

"Then I felt something different, so I went outside and saw thick, dark smoke. After that, I heard a loud explosion, not from the crash itself. Then there were more explosions – at least seven."

He continues: "We feel bad when accidents happen on the other side of the world, but this happened right here. It’s traumatic."

We've been reporting today on the possibility that a bird strike may have played a part in a plane crash in South Korea, which left 179 of the 181 people onboard dead.

A bird strike is a collision between a plane in flight and a bird. They are very common - in the UK, more than 1,400 bird strikes were reported in 2022, only about 100 of which affected the plane, according to data from the Civil Aviation Authority, external.

Professor Doug Drury, who teaches aviation at CQUniversity Australia, wrote in an article for The Conversation, external that Boeing planes have turbofan engines, which can be severely damaged in a bird strike.

He said that pilots are trained to be especially vigilant during the early morning or at sunset, when birds are most active.

For more on whether a bird strike played a part to the crash, we have this piece.

As we've been sharing updates on what may be South Korea's worst aviation disaster, our colleagues at the BBC Global News Podcast have released a special edition about the plane crash at Muan International Airport.

You can listen to it here.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

It's now just past 23:30 in Korea. Here's what we know so far about what could be the country's worst aviation accident:

• A plane crash at Muan International Airport in South Korea has left 179 people dead
• Four crew members and all 175 passengers were killed
• There are two survivors, both members of the flight crew. One of them has been talking to doctors, according to Yonhap news agency

• The Boeing 737-800, operated by Korean airline Jeju Air, was arriving from Bangkok, Thailand, when it crashed at about 09:00 local time (00:00 GMT)
• Most passengers were South Koreans, apart from two Thai nationals
• Footage shows the plane landing without its wheels, skidding along the runway and crashing into a wall, triggering a fiery explosion
• The cause of the crash is still under investigation, and it could take up to a month to decode the flight data as it was damaged
• A government official said air traffic control had issued a bird strike warning, delaying the landing. Two minutes later, the pilot issued a Mayday call and was cleared to land from the opposite direction

We’re now hearing from a survivor - one of only two people who made it out alive from the plane crash.

The 33-year-old flight attendant from the Jeju Air plane told doctors he had already been rescued when he woke up, according to news agency Yonhap, which quoted hospital director Ju Woong.

He was first taken to a hospital in Mokpo, about 25km (15.5 miles) south of the airport, but was later transferred to Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital in the capital.

“He’s fully able to communicate,” Ju said. "There's no indication yet of memory loss or such."

The survivor, who suffered multiple fractures, is receiving special care due to the risk of after-effects, including total paralysis, the news agency added.

Jake Kwon
Reporting from Muan International Airport

Earlier, we reported that officials had recovered both "black boxes" – the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder – from the wreckage.

Yonhap news agency is now reporting that one of them has been damaged. According to Yonhap, the flight data recorder is partially affected, but the voice recorder appears to be intact.

An investigator told the news agency it could take up to a month to decode because of the damage.

Jake Kwon
Reporting from Muan International Airport

Dozens of emergency tents have been put up in the airport’s departure hall.

Grieving families have been taking shelter inside. I’ve seen some of them holding each other and wailing.

Image source, Jake Kwon/BBC