Bancha Yuenyongchongcharoen, Charge d’Affaires of the Royal Thai Embassy in Seoul offers condolence at a memorial altar in Seoul City Hall during South Korea’s seven-day national mourning period on Tuesday. (Royal Thai Embassy in Seoul via The Korea Herald/Asia News Network)
The two Thai nationals who tragically lost their lives in a tragic plane crash on Sunday were a promising college student and a proud mother of two.
The victims, identified as Sirinthorn Ja-ue, a 22-year-old from Chiang Rai’s Mae Suai district, and Boonchuay Duangmanee, a 45-year-old from Udon Thani province, were among the 181 passengers aboard the ill-fated flight.
Ja-ue was traveling to South Korea to celebrate the New Year with her mother, who had married a Korean man. It was to be her second visit to Korea.
READ: Passengers on crashed plane were 173 S. Koreans, 2 Thais
A bright airline business management student at Bangkok University, she was just three months away from graduation, with dreams of becoming a flight attendant.
Ja-ue’s family had been eagerly anticipating her graduation ceremony.
Boonchuay Duangmanee had lived in South Korea for seven years with her Korean husband and worked in agriculture.
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A devoted mother of two, Duangmanee frequently traveled back to her hometown in Udon Thani. She returned to Thailand with her husband in early December before heading back to South Korea on Dec. 29.
“See you tomorrow morning,’ she said, and talked as we always did. I never imagined that would be the last time. I thought she would be home soon,” Duangmanee’s grieving husband told Korean media, recalling the last conversation.
“I am just trying to accept it and calm my heart. It could happen to anyone, so I accepted it. No matter what I do, my daughter won’t come back,” her father said in an interview with Korea’s public broadcaster KBS.
“I hope the government can offer some assistance. I want to bring my daughter home and perform the proper religious rites,” he added.
The Thai Embassy in Seoul is communicating with the families of two Thai victims.
“We are facilitating communication and coordinating with South Korean authorities,” the embassy told The Korea Herald.
The embassy has lowered its flag to half-staff in mourning, a gesture that will remain until Jan. 4.
On Tuesday, the Thai Embassy’s Charge d’Affaires Bancha Yuenyongchongcharoen visited the memorial altar at Seoul City Hall to pay respects during South Korea’s seven-day national mourning period.
Meanwhile, the embassy has also invited Thai nationals in Korea to pay their respects at official memorial altars in 17 cities and provinces, which will be open from until Jan. 4.
Both the Thai and South Korean governments have expressed condolences to the victims’ families and have assured full cooperation in arranging travel and necessary documentation for the relatives.
“I have instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work closely with ROK’s relevant authorities to take the best care of the bereaved families and on the immediate repatriation of the deceased,” said Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of so many precious lives, including the two Thai nationals who were aboard,” said South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul on Monday.
The Foreign Ministry in Seoul has stated that it is “working closely with the Thai Embassy in Korea and the Korean Embassy in Thailand to offer assistance to the families of the foreign victims.”