Severe damage to the bodies of the victims of the Jeju Air plane crash is delaying the handover of the remains to their families.

The regional police in South Jeolla Province said in a briefing at 3 a.m. Monday that medical exams are being delayed due to the damage.

The exams must take place before the bodies can be handed over to the bereaved families. 

A police official said the impact of the crash and the explosion had badly damaged most of the bodies and that police will mobilize 26 people, including medical examiners from the National Forensic Service, to speed up the exam process. 

The police said that while fingerprints were collected from 151 of the 179 victims, the remaining 28 have not been identified and will require DNA testing.

Fire authorities had identified 133 of the 179 victims as of 1:40 a.m. Monday.