Sobbing and holding onto one another, relatives of Singapore Airlines crash victims began the grim process of identifying the bodies of their loved ones at CKS airport yesterday.
"The identities of 20 victims were confirmed after DNA testings. One passenger, whose face was recognizable, was identified by his relatives and another was recognized by his teeth," chief prosecutor Song Kuo-yeh said.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
Results of DNA testing of some relatives would not be available until today, Song said.
A group of 55 family members of victims were scheduled to arrive from Los Angeles today, joining the over 100 that are already in Taipei.
Emotions ran high in Singapore, where the brother of a man who died burst into a nationally televised Singapore Airlines news conference to denounce the airline, forcing the briefing to end.
The death toll rose to 81 yesterday when the bodies of two missing people were identified. Most of the victims were Americans or Taiwanese.
The airline was forced to apologize for releasing the names of some passengers killed in Tuesday night's tragedy to the public before next-of-kin were told.
At the Singapore news conference, Tan Yin Leong said he learned of his brother's death in news reports but the airline would not give him any information.
``Please tell the press the true story,'' Tan pleaded to Rick Clements, the airline's spokesman. ``Don't hide anymore!''
A security agent tried to take Tan away, but Clements insisted that he be allowed to stay.
Looking exhausted, Tan gasped for breath as he spoke for several minutes in front of TV cameras and reporters.
His tearful daughter, Natali, stood behind him.
When Tan finished speaking, Clements put his arm around him and ended the news conference. ``That was obviously a very distressing moment for all of us, especially for that poor gentleman who lost his brother,'' Clements said.
Speaking about the premature release of passenger names, Clements said it "was a most regrettable situation. We will make sure that does not happen again."
Some relatives have blamed the pilot, Captain Foong Chee Kong, for the crash. But Singapore Airlines -- which had not had a major accident in 28 years of operations -- defended Foong, saying conditions were safe enough that other planes were taking off and landing late Tuesday.
Meanwhile, hundreds of volunteers from several Buddhist groups, clad in yellow vests, continued chanting Buddhist prayers to pacify the souls of the dead.
The inside of the makeshift mortuary itself was a chilling sight.
Dozens of bodies placed in white bags were positioned in the main hall of the one-story building, which has served as a storage area since the crash on Tuesday.
Alongside the remains were wooden coffins, each guarded by policemen wearing masks.
In front of each coffin was a bundle of flowers and an incense stick.
On top of the coffins were photos showing the charred bodies and personal belongings.
Among the photos, one was of a watch giving a grim and pointed reminder of the time of the tragedy, the time at which it stopped -- 11:18 pm.
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