Impatience rose on Tuesday among exhausted families gathered at the airport as they waited for the bodies of their loved ones to be released.
One bereaved relative, Park Han-shin, said the bodies being held in freezers were prepared for transfer to funeral homes but the process could take time, and urged others to stay patient.
The National Police Agency said it was making all-out efforts to speed identification of the five bodies still unknown, allocating more personnel and equipment such as rapid DNA analysers.
A “black box” flight data recorder recovered from the crash site was missing a key connector and authorities were reviewing how to extract its data, but retrieval of data from the cockpit voice recorder has begun, the transport ministry told briefings.
Inspections of all 101 B737-800s operated by South Korean airlines were set to wrap up by Jan 3, though the airport would stay closed until Jan 7, it added in a statement.
Representatives of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Federal Aviation Administration, and aircraft maker Boeing have joined the investigations.
In a statement, the NTSB said it sent three investigators to assist, some specialised in operational factors and airworthiness.
“If we need more specialists we will send them,” Jennifer Homendy, its chair, said in an interview.
On Monday, South Korea’s Acting President Choi Sang-mok ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country’s entire airline operation.
