At least 179 people have been killed after a passenger plane skidded and crashed while trying to land at Muan International Airport in South Korea in one of the country’s worst aviation disasters.
The accident occurred on Sunday at 9:03am local time (00:03 GMT) when the Jeju Air flight, carrying 175 passengers and six crew from the Thai capital Bangkok, landed at Muan International Airport about 290km (180 miles) southwest of the capital Seoul.
The National Fire Agency confirmed that 179 people – 85 women, 84 men and 10 others whose were not immediately identifiable – have been killed, and two people have been rescued – both crew members. The fire that engulfed the plane has been extinguished, the agency said.
The plane, a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 jet, was reported to be carrying two Thai passengers and the rest were believed to be South Koreans.
The crash is believed to have been caused by “contact with birds, resulting in malfunctioning landing gear” as the plane attempted to land at the airport, reports suggest.
The accident has been declared the worst in history on South Korean soil.
Video shared by local media showed the twin-engine aircraft landing on its belly and skidding down the runway with no apparent landing gear before slamming into a wall in an explosion of flames and debris. Other photos depicted smoke and fire engulfing parts of the plane.
One photo shared by local media showed thick clouds of black smoke coming out of the plane. Another showed the tail section of the jet engulfed in flames on what appeared to be the side of the runway, with firefighters and emergency vehicles nearby.
The country’s News1 agency reported that a passenger texted a relative to say a bird was stuck in the wing. The person’s final message was, “Should I say my last words?”
The South Korean government has declared seven days of national mourning in the wake of the tragic plane crash.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has expressed deep condolences to the families of the crash victims.
South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok, meanwhile, ordered “all-out efforts for rescue operations” at Muan airport.
Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been ordered to probe if Thai passengers were on the flight and to provide “assistance immediately”, the prime minister said in a post on social media.
The crash comes as South Korea is embroiled in a massive political crisis triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s stunning imposition of martial law and ensuing impeachment.
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