SEOUL, South Korea – 179 people are now confirmed dead following a fiery plane crash just off the tarmac at the Muan International Airport in South Korea, approximately 288 kilometers southwest of the capital, Seoul.
A Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 airliner carrying 181 people, including 175 passengers, and six crew, was en-route from Bangkok in Thailand to the Muan International Airport in Muan County, located in South Jeolla Province, when it crashed on Sunday morning at 9:03am local time. Reports say the aircraft experienced a landing gear malfunction.
Two members of the crew were rescued, while the remainder of those on board, 179, are now confirmed to have died in the crash.
“After the plane collided with the wall, passengers were thrown out of the aircraft,” a firefighting agency official told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
“The aircraft has almost completely been destroyed, and it is difficult to identify the deceased,” the official said. “We are in the process of recovering the remains, which will take time.”
Most on board were South Koreans, however the manifest included at least two Thai nationals.
The crash was compounded when the plane caught fire, trapping many on board, and making it difficult for rescuers.
The flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder have been recovered which will assist investigators establishing gthe cause of the crash.
The airport control tower warned of the risk of a bird strike at 8:54am. The pilot declared mayday at 8:59am, before belly-landing the plane at 9:03am, the land ministry told a news conference.
Jeju Air is South Korea’s largest low-coast carrier. The airline which services a number of domestic routes also maintains flights to and from Southeast Asia, Japan and Oceania. The airline will mark its 20th anniversary on 25 January 2025.
Photos credit: Supplied by reader to Yonhap News Agency.
