Citizens pay tribute at a joint memorial altar for the victims of the Jeju Air plane crash in Muan, southwest South Korea, Dec. 30, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

The remains of 174 people have tentatively been identified out of 179 killed in a deadly passenger jet crash that occurred in South Korea's southwestern airport Sunday, the transport ministry said Tuesday.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a briefing for the bereaved families that among 32 victims who could not be identified by fingerprints, 17 victims were identified in the first DNA test while 10 more were identified in the second DNA test.

The identification of the remaining five victims failed due to DNA inconsistencies.

The bodies of four identified victims were transferred to the bereaved families and the funeral service for them had begun, according to the ministry.

The authorities said earlier that it could take up to 10 days for all the bodies to be handed over to their families as most of them were severely damaged.

The Boeing 737-800 of the Jeju Air crashed while landing at the Muan International Airport, some 290 km southwest of Seoul.

Because of the estimated landing gear failure, the airplane landed without wheels, skidded off the runway and crashed into the outer wall of the runway, with its fuselage broken apart and catching fire.

This photo shows the site of an airplane crash at the Muan International Airport, some 290 km southwest of Seoul, South Korea, Dec. 29, 2024. [NEWSIS via Xinhua]

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