Bereaved family members of the Jeju Air plane crash victims look at the accident site at Muan International Airport, South Jeolla Province, Tuesday. Yonhap

The remains of 174 out of 179 people killed in Sunday's fatal Jeju Air plane crash have been identified, with rescue authorities still scrambling to identify the remaining five, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Tuesday.

"Of the 32 people who could not be identified by fingerprints, we identified 17 people in the first DNA test and 10 more in the second round," a ministry official said during a briefing for the victims' families at Muan International Airport. "We are further confirming the remaining five due to DNA inconsistencies," the official added.

Only five out of 179 bodies were found intact, yet in severely damaged condition. The bodies recovered at the crash site were separated into 606 parts, according to rescue authorities.

The bodies of four of the identified victims were handed over to their families on Monday, and funeral arrangements have begun at their respective hometowns, according to officials.

The remaining 175 are currently kept in cold storage containers that the government set up inside the airport.

Forensic officials conduct an on-site investigation at the scene of the Jeju Air plane crash at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province, Tuesday. Yonhap

Originally, identification of all 179 victims was scheduled to be completed by Tuesday but was delayed due to difficulties in DNA matching.

The police and the National Forensic Service (NFS) plan to complete DNA testing of the remaining bodies by Friday at the earliest.

Once the autopsy is completed, the bodies will be moved to a funeral home that each bereaved family selected.

"It may be difficult to deliver the body immediately. We need to collect the DNA-identified body from the NFS and deliver it to the bereaved families after the authorities conduct a medical examination," Na Won-oh, head of the investigation department at the South Jeolla Provincial Police Agency, said.

"We expect that it will be possible to deliver the body as early as next Monday," Na said.

Meanwhile, a team from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and Boeing officials also arrived at the scene to support the investigation of the cause of the accident.

New acting President Choi Sang-mok asked related agencies for timely support for the bereaved families, saying, "We will do our best to support the bereaved families and identify the cause of the accident."

Six domestic airlines that operate the Boeing 737-800 — Jeju Air, Korean Air, Eastar Jet, T'way Air, Jin Air and Air Incheon — will go through special safety inspections, he said.

The catastrophic plane crash on Sunday killed 179 of the 181 people on board as the plane belly-landed and slammed into a concrete fence for yet unidentified reasons.