First-flight treat claims three from one family
The two sisters had decided to take their 75-year-old father to Beijing over the Labour Day holiday. In the past, they had taken the train, but they wanted to treat him to his first plane trip.
On Tuesday Cui Ke and his daughters Cui Xiuzhen and Cui Xiuli were among those killed when China Northern Airlines Flight 6136 plunged into the sea.
The families of Xiuzhen and Xiuli - who were both in their 50s - on Wednesday received 40,000 yuan (HK$37,600) and 50,000 yuan respectively from the Ping An Insurance company, the first compensation paid out to relatives of the dead. The women had both taken out accident insurance.
The tragedy of the Cuis is just one of the many that have emerged since the disaster as friends and relatives come forward to mourn the dead.
Among the dead was Jiang Lai, who had left her post as deputy chief of the television station in Beihai, in Guangxi, to take up a new job in journalism in Dalian. A former school teacher of her's, Tang Minxu, who is a well-known author of children's books, recalled her school days.
'She was very bright and an outstanding student. When she left Dalian after her studies to be with her parents in Guangxi, she always kept in touch with me. She called me in early April to say she was coming here to work and would come to see me.'
Also among the victims were three Dalian soccer coaches, including Yang Kunfeng, the goalkeeping coach of the Dalian Wanda team, the national club champions.
He was returning home after realising his dream of training with the national team.
China Northern Airlines has booked rooms in five city hotels to receive relatives of the dead and is providing medical treatment and counselling.
Yesterday, the search for bodies of the dead continued in earnest. Hundreds of PLA navy personnel and divers are involved. Specialised salvage ships have been sent from Yantai.
Meanwhile, as the Boeing Corporation, owner of the plane's manufacturer McDonnell Douglas, and China Northern puzzle over who is to blame for the crash, senior officials from Beijing and Shenyang have arrived in Dalian to lead the crash investigation.
China Northern, which became an independent company in June 1990, has a fleet of 85 planes, including 24 MD-82s and 13 MD-90s, with 868 pilots.
It was the first crash at Dalian airport since it became a civilian airport in 1973.
Travel agents in the city reported no cancellations of bookings for people planning to go by air to the World Cup in South Korea.