Cousin of Thai national on fatal flight ‘saddened and shocked’published at 12:58 Greenwich Mean Time 29 December
Thanyaporn Buathong
BBC Thai Service
Image source, Pornphichaya chalermsinMum-of-two Jongluk Doungmanee was onboard the flight that crashed at Muan airport
The cousin of a Thai passenger, 49-year-old Jongluk Doungmanee, who was onboard the fatal Jeju Air flight says she is “saddened” and “shocked”.
Pornphichaya Chalermsin, from Nong Wua So District, Udon Thani, says her cousin Jongluk is a mother of two children, aged 7 and 15, and had been living in South Korea for five years, working in agriculture with her Korean husband, whom she married three years ago.
In an interview with BBC Thai, she said she had “only ever seen such news from other countries and never thought it would involve Thai people”, adding that “watching the video footage made me feel even more distressed.
“I was shocked, I had goosebumps. I couldn’t believe it… when the news said one of the victims was from Udon Thani, I was even more surprised.”
Before her flight on Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, Joungluk had spent over two weeks in Thailand visiting her family and traveling in Chiang Mai with her husband. Her husband had already returned to South Korea before she departed.
- For context: We’ve received confirmation that 179 people on board the flight have died, with two crew members rescued. The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the death of two Thai women on the flight has been confirmed. A total of 88 victims have been identified so far
