The identities of five victims killed in the explosion at Hanwha Aerospace's Daejeon plant have been confirmed three days after the accident, which left five dead and two injured.
The Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency said Friday that it had confirmed the identities of all five fatalities through DNA analysis conducted by the National Forensic Service.
"We confirmed the identities by comparing DNA samples from the bereaved families with those of the deceased," a police official said. "We plan to hand over the bodies to the families."
Fire authorities had recovered the victims' bodies immediately after the accident, but identification proved difficult due to severe damage caused by the force of the explosion. Police subsequently requested DNA analysis from the National Forensic Service.
In a briefing the previous day, fire authorities and Hanwha Aerospace said two of the five fatalities were contract workers in their 20s who had joined the company in February. The remaining victims were reportedly an on-site supervisor with nearly 20 years of service and skilled workers with extensive experience handling explosives.
With the identification process complete, mortuaries or memorial altars are expected to be set up later in the day at the hospitals where the bodies are being held.
