Jeju Air: Anger as families wait to see bodies after South Korea ...

The 179 people who died on flight 7C2216 were aged between three and 78 years old, although most were in their 40s, 50s and 60s, according to Yonhap news agency. Two Thai nationals are among the dead and the rest are believed to be South Korean, authorities have said.

Five of the people who died were children under the age of 10, with the youngest passenger being a three-year-old boy.

One man in his sixties said five of his family members spanning three generations had been on the plane, including his sister-in-law, his daughter, her husband and their young children, according to Yonhap news agency.

Many of the passengers had been celebrating the Christmas holidays in Thailand and were returning home.

The cousin of one victim, Jongluk Doungmanee, told BBC Thai she was "shocked" when she heard the news.

"I had goosebumps. I couldn't believe it," Pornphichaya Chalermsin said.

Jongluk had been living in South Korea for the past five years working in the agriculture industry. She usually travelled to Thailand twice a year during the holidays to visit her ailing father and two children - aged 7 and 15 - from a former marriage.

She had spent over two weeks this time with her husband, who had returned to South Korea earlier in December.

Her father, who suffers from a heart disease, was "devastated" when he found out about her death, said Pornphichaya.

"It is unbearable for him. This was his youngest daughter", she said, adding that all three of his children work abroad.