A plane crash in South Korea on Sunday resulted in the deaths of 177 people, with two others still missing. The incident occurred when a Jeju Air passenger jet, carrying 181 individuals, made a belly landing and exploded at Muan International Airport, according to Yonhap News Agency report.
This is one of the most severe aviation disasters in South Korea’s history and the deadliest involving a domestic airline since the 1997 Korean Air crash in Guam, which resulted in 225 fatalities, as per Yonhap News Agency report.
The incident occurred around 9 a.m. when a Boeing 737-800, carrying 175 passengers and six crew members, veered off the runway during a landing attempt. The aircraft, which had departed from Bangkok earlier that morning, skidded along the ground without deploying its landing gear, collided with a concrete wall, and burst into flames.
Officials confirmed 177 fatalities, with two crew members rescued. However, two individuals are still missing, and search operations continued overnight in efforts to find them. To date, 22 victims have been identified
The crash left the aircraft almost completely destroyed, making victim identification a challenging process. According to a firefighting official, “After the plane collided with the wall, passengers were thrown out of the aircraft. The chances of survival are extremely low.”
The plane’s wreckage is heavily damaged, and recovery operations for the deceased continue. Due to the scale of the destruction, authorities have set up a temporary morgue at Muan Airport to manage the bodies.
The Jeju Air flight was originally scheduled to arrive at Muan around 8:30 a.m., but it crashed about an hour later. Most of the passengers were South Korean, with the exception of two Thai nationals.
There were 181 people on board, including 82 men and 93 women, with ages ranging from three to 78 years. Many passengers were in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, according to Yonhap News Agency report.
After the crash, only two crew members survived. They were promptly rescued and treated for non-life-threatening injuries at hospitals in Mokpo before being transferred to Seoul. The authorities believe that potential landing gear failure, possibly triggered by a bird strike, could have contributed to the crash.
Six minutes before the crash, the airport’s control tower had issued a warning about a potential bird strike. Shortly after, the pilot sent a “Mayday” distress signal, indicating the aircraft was in critical condition.
In response to the tragedy, South Jeolla officials raised emergency alerts to the highest level and deployed all available rescue and police teams to the crash site.
Choi Sang-mok, acting President arrived at the crash site around noon, directing officials to make all-out efforts for search operations. Choi further extended heartfelt condolences to the victims family members and assured to offer them all possible government support, according to Yonhap report.
The presidential office declared an emergency meeting of senior officials to discuss the government’s response.
Acting National Police Agency Commissioner-General Lee Ho-young further instructed officials to mobilize all available resources and collaborate with firefighting and other relevant agencies to assist with the rescue efforts, according to Yonhap report.
Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae also issued a statement expressing regret and extended heartfelt condolences to the victims families, as per Yonhap News Agency. “Regardless of the cause, I take full responsibility as the CEO,” Kim E-bae stated.
Meanwhile, the Jeju Air Company, pledged of sparing no effort to cope with the crash.