‘She was almost home’: Families mourn after S Korea plane crash

The 179 passengers were aged between three and 78 years old, although most were in their 40s, 50s and 60s, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported. Two Thai nationals are among the dead and the rest are believed to be South Korean, authorities have said.

Five of the people who died were children under the age of 10, while the youngest passenger, a little boy, was just three years old.

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.

Many of the passengers had been celebrating the Christmas holidays in Thailand and were returning home.

The cousin of one victim, 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 spent over two weeks in Thailand visiting her family and traveling in the northern city of Chiang Mai with her husband.