Remains of 2 S. Korean victims in Lao plane crash brought home

BUSAN (Yonhap News) -- The remains of two South Korean victims who were killed in a Lao plane crash were brought home on Saturday, government and airport officials said.

The French-made ATR-72 jet crashed into the Mekong River while attempting to land in bad weather on Oct. 16, killing all 49 passengers and crewmembers on board, including three South Koreans.

The remains of Lee Jae-sang and Lee Kang-pil, whose bodies were identified days after the accident and then cremated, arrived at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, a port on South Korea's south coast, separately at 9:00 a.m. and 11:18 a.m., they said.

Information on the third victim, Lee Hong-jik, was unavailable. The three victims were reportedly all in their 40s.

The exact cause of the plane crash has not been determined yet, with Lao authorities still working on recovering the flight data and cockpit voice recorders of the plane, South Korean officials said.