TAOYUAN, Taiwan, Nov 1 — Near coffins adorned with chrysanthemums, Buddhist monks chanted prayers on Wednesday for the victims of Singapore Airlines flight SQ 006.
Cries from grieving relatives who had just discovered dead kin lying beneath white sheets on the ground cut through the chants.
At least 79 of the 179 passengers and crew on board the Los Angeles-bound SQ 006 died in a fiery crash at Taipei airport on Sunday night as it took off in a typhoon. One hundred survived the crash, many with serious injuries.
Emotions ran high as family members of those killed in the crash made their way through a makeshift morgue in Taiwan's international airport at Taoyuan city, just south of the capital Taipei.
"Daddy, daddy, I don't want this," two sisters wailed, collapsing as they pulled aside a sheet covering their father.
Coffins stood vacant beside bodies still awaiting identification. Biting winds and rain from lingering typhoon conditions made life even more uncomfortable for anxious family members looking for missing relatives.
All bodies had been recovered from the wreckage by Wednesday morning but some were burned beyond recognition and officials said DNA testing would be necessary for identification.
Across the airport, hidden from the mourners, stood the hulking, burned-out remains of the Singapore Airlines jumbo jet. But television screens were full of pictures of the wreckage and it was hard to believe anyone was not aware of the grim reminders of the terrifying crash.
"Please take care"
Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian visited the airport to offer his condolences to victims' relatives, urging: "Please take care. Restrain your grief and try to accept the change."
Some relatives, many still waiting to identify their loved ones, lashed out in grief at airport and airline officials.
"Don't tell me you are sorry," one middle-aged Taiwan woman shouted at an airline official. "What if I kill your parents and tell you I am sorry?"
For some relatives, not knowing the fate of their loved ones was almost as bad as finding out they had died.
"I was scared to death when I saw the news on TV. My son was on board and I have no idea what had happened to him," said a grey-haired man. Weeping, he only gave his surname as Wang.
The crash was the second at Chiang Kai-shek airport in just over two years. In February 1998, 203 people were killed when a China Airlines Airbus A300-600R loaded with holidaymakers returning from Bali crashed into a building while making its landing approach.
Singapore Airlines offered US$25,000 for relatives of people killed in the crash, and US$5,000 for injured survivors.
Passengers and crew from 19 countries were aboard the craft, including 55 from Taiwan, 47 U.S. citizens, and 17 Singaporeans, the airline said.
An investigation into the cause of the crash was under way. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Bureau, Federal Aviation Administration and jet manufacturer Boeing were sending teams to Taiwan.
But there are questions the authorities will never be able to answer.
"I'm already 70. Why did he have to stop growing when he was so young?" one elderly man said to his wife as they walked from the terminal on Wednesday after identifying their dead son.
"I even sent him to the taxi and told him to call from America."