The passenger plane crash that killed 179 in South Korea comes at a time of political upheaval in the country, testing the government’s ability to administer a rapid disaster response, report the Guardian’s Raphael Rashid and Justin McCurry:
The incident has highlighted the potential risks that instability at the highest level of government poses to disaster response.
There were encouraging signs in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. South Korea’s rival political parties launched separate initiatives in response to the disaster, apparently setting aside the animosity of recent weeks.
The opposition Democratic party leader, Lee Jae-myung, left for Muan, where he plans to stay indefinitely to support rescue efforts, the Hankyoreh newspaper said, although he will stay away from the crash site while recovery operations continue.
The ruling People Power party, meanwhile, formed a taskforce focused on investigating the crash and supporting victims’ families. The party’s acting leader, Kweon Seong-dong, will visit Muan on Monday with taskforce members to “review accident response measures and prevention strategies” and meet bereaved families.
Joe Biden said in a statement on Sunday that he was “deeply saddened” to learn of the South Korea plane crash that killed all but two of the 181 passengers onboard.
“As close allies, the American people share deep bonds of friendship with the South Korean people and our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted by this tragedy,” the statement said. “The United States stands ready to provide any necessary assistance.”
source; TheGuardian
