Heartbreaking last picture of 3-year-old boy peering out plane window before deadly South Korea accident claiming 179 lives

A TRAGIC final picture of a three-year-old boy shows him looking out of a plane window before the deadly South Korean plane crash.

The toddler, along with his parents, tragically lost their lives in the worst aviation disaster of 2024, which claimed a total of 179 lives.

South Korean authorities are facing challenges in the identification of the severely damaged and charred remains of the crash victims after the devastating incident on Sunday.

The passenger plane erupted into a fireball after smashing into a wall following a crash landing.

All but two of the 181 people on board were killed in the tragedy that has left the world reeling.

Grieving families have spent days camped outside Muan International Airport as they grow desperate to see the bodies of their loved ones.

Five of those killed were children aged under 10.

The youngest was only a three-year-old who had spent the days prior on a family holiday with his parents Kang Ko, 43, and Jin Lee Seon, 37.

All three tragically died on the doomed plane.

Pictures from their trip – the boy’s first and only foreign holiday – were posted on Instagram hours before they boarded the Jeju Air plane.

The harrowing images, found by local media, were all taken in the days before they initially left for Thailand and detailed the loving family trip.

One showed the trio posing for a snap in front of a beautiful Thai palace.

A second gut-wrenching snap showed the little boy excitedly peering out of a plane window as they flew into Bangkok.

A poignant image circulating online depicted the toddler’s untouched passport, accompanied by a caption penned by his father: “My son’s inaugural overseas journey is on a night flight, and his pristine passport remains unstamped!”

The beloved father had planned the trip to celebrate Christmas with his family, South Korean media reports.

It was also as a celebration for the baseball team who he worked for following their victory in the Korean Series earlier this year, they added.

Mr Ko reportedly worked in PR for the Kia Tigers baseball team as sports broadcaster Jung Woo-young paid tribute to him online.

The touching post said: “He was so good at his job that everyone on our company’s baseball broadcasting team liked him.

“We waited until the end for news of a miraculous return, but with the news of the deaths of everyone except the rescuers, even our last hope disappeared.

“In the end, he never returned. Not even his family.”

So far just 141 of the 179 people dead have been confirmed with only five bodies being released to families, the BBC reports.

All those on board the flight are thought to have been Korean except for two Thai nationals -one of whom was a 22-year-old woman called Sirithon Chaue.

Tragically, her mother was waiting for her at the airport when the plane crashed landed.

Chaue’s uncle told how she was going to visit her mum, who lives in South Korea, and hoped to find a job there.

He added: “She always dreamed of working there as an air hostess.

“Her mother was waiting at the airport and at first she thought the plane malfunction was minor. But then she saw the videos of what happened on social media. She was in shock and panic.”

Authorities are understood to have recovered more than 600 body parts as they deal with the aftermath of the horror crash.

Devastated families have gathered at the airport and are demanding to see the bodies of their relatives.

Anger has been directed at police, who say they are taking their time to carefully identify victims.

Police superintendent general Na Won reassured families they were making their best efforts to collect and match as many bodies as possible, reports BBC.

Serious questions are now being asked over if the incident could have been avoided.

Investigators are desperately trying to piece together what caused the harrowing crash – one of the worst aviation disasters in South Korea‘s history.

Flight data and cockpit voice recorders have been recovered from the wreckage but authorities have warned it might take months to complete a probe into the crash.

Police are also investigating an email claiming that the Jeju Air passenger plane accident was their doing.

The passenger plane is thought to have hit a bird on its approach to Muan International Airport – crippling the plane’s landing gear.

Video shows it approaching the airport when its right engine was struck.

The collision may have forced the pilot – who is reported to have made a mayday call shortly after the strike – to shut down the damaged engine as he wrestled to control it in the sky.

Several attempts to land were aborted by the pilot before a final decision was made to attempt it.

The aircraft quickly slammed into the tarmac as the pilot tried to land safely.

Should I say my last words?

Final text from a passenger

But the pilot’s heroic landing was all done in vain as it continued to speed off the end of the runway.

Seconds later it smashed into a concrete wall at the end of the 2,800-metre runway, which was only built last year.

The plane instantly exploded after hitting the structure.

The impact is believed to have set off the fireball by rupturing fuel tanks.

Upsetting final texts from a passenger on the doomed plane were shared with a TV station.

With a Hello Kitty profile picture, the text message exchange happened just two minutes before the fireball crash.

“A bird got stuck in the wing, so we can’t land,” wrote the passenger to their waiting relative.

They were then asked how long that had been the case.

The passenger then replies with a chilling final message, saying: “Just now, should I say my last words?”