At least 85 passengers were burnt beyond recognition aboard an airliner that landed at Muan International Airport in South Korea on Sunday. It landed without wheels, ran off the airport’s runway, and then exploded into a ball of fire after crashing into a wall.
A South Korean airline, Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, with 181 people on board that had arrived from the Thai capital Bangkok, was attempting to land shortly after 9 am (0000 GMT) in the south of South Korea’s airport, said the transport ministry.
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The ministry also gave details of the fatalities, in the worst air crash that involved a South Korean airline in nearly 27 years.
Rescue workers managed to pull a man and a woman from the burning wreckage of the passenger aircraft’s tail, said Lee Jung Hyun, Muan fire chief during a media briefing. Lee said the fire was out by 1 p.m.
“As for the tail part there is still a small shape, and (the plane) looks almost unrecognizable for the rest,” he said.
Since then investigators have moved from rescue to search and recovery, because of the force of the impact, Lee said that authorities are looking for bodies that might have been washed ashore from the plane in the surrounding areas.
The head of the local public health center said the two crew were being treated at hospitals with medium to severe injuries. Yonhap news agency quoted a fire official as saying that only around 175 passengers and 6 crew members were believed to have perished in the incident. More than 58 bodies have been retrieved but that figure is, perhaps, unknown, another fire officer said to Reuters. An airport official speaking to Reuters after the crash said that authorities had attempted to conduct a rescue of individuals in the tail section. center.
Yonhap news agency cited a fire official as saying most of the 175 passengers and six crew were presumed dead.
At least 58 bodies have been recovered but that number is not final, another fire official told Reuters.
An airport official told Reuters shortly after the crash that authorities had worked to rescue people in the tail section.
The local TV stations offered video footage of the twin-engine plane taxiing towards the ground without any wheels before exploding in a ball of fire as it hit the concrete wall. Other pictures captured smoke and flames seen around portions of the aircraft.
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The crash is the deadliest for any South Korean airline since the Korean Air Flight 858 crash in Guam in 1997 that killed over 200 people, data from the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs show.
Bird strikes and weather are other areas under investigation, according to Lee. Yonhap quoted the airport’s authorities on the probable cause of problems with the landing gear pointing to a bird strike as a possible reason. A passenger called one of his relatives and said that a bird was trapped in the wing, according to the News1 agency. It killed more than 200 people, according to transportation ministry data.
Investigators are looking into bird strikes and weather conditions as possible factors, Lee said. Yonhap cited airport authorities as saying a bird strike may have caused the landing gear to malfunction.
A passenger texted a relative to say a bird was stuck in the wing, the News1 agency reported. Their last words before the end of the message were “Should I now conclude?”
Among the passengers, there were two Thais and the others were supposed to be South Koreans as per the data of the Ministry of Transportation.
The flight was a Boeing 737-800 belonging to Jeju Air; the carrier was looking for information about the crash, including fatalities and circumstances, a spokesperson for the airline added. The transport ministry added that the plane was manufactured in 2009.
Jeju Air recorded its message of apology for the occurrence of the accident.
Responding to our inquiries, Boeing responded through an emailed statement: “We are engaged with Jeju Air on flight 2216 and remain available to assist them.” To the families of the dead – our sincere condolences, and to the passengers and crews, our thoughts are with you.”
The US Federal Aviation Administration has not yet responded to a request for its comment.
All flights, both domestic and international, said to be operating at the Muan airport had been canceled, according to Yonhap News. South Korean acting President Choi Sang-mok chosen as the interim leader on Friday during the political crisis, visited the scene of the accident and said that the government was doing everything it could to address the crash. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra posted a message of condolence on X saying she had directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to offer help.
South Korean acting President Choi Sang-mok, named interim leader of the country on Friday in an ongoing political crisis, arrived at the scene of the accident and said the government was putting all its resources into dealing with the crash.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra sent condolences to the families of the dead and injured in a post on X, saying she had instructed the foreign ministry to assist.
The ministry stated in its press release it was communicating with the South Korean government.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that he was ‘deeply saddened by the tragedy.’
“On this sad occasion, our hearts are with the families of the victims and with the people and the Government of the Republic of Korea.”
FAQs
What caused the plane crash in South Korea?
Investigations are ongoing, but potential causes could include mechanical failure, pilot error, or adverse weather conditions.
How many people survived the crash?
Out of 181 passengers, 96 survived, though many may have sustained injuries.
Where exactly did the crash occur?
The crash happened in South Korea, but further details about the location are yet to be confirmed.