A total of 179 people have died in a plane crash in South Korea on Sunday, December 29, according to local rescue officials.
The Jeju Air Flight 2216 landed without wheels, veering off the runway and erupting in a fireball as it slammed into a wall at South Korea's Muan International Airport.
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| Photo courtesy: BNO News / AFP / ABS-CBN News |
The plane arriving from the Thai capital Bangkok with 181 people on board, was attempting to land shortly after 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) at the airport in the south of the country, South Korea's transport ministry said.
BREAKING: Video shows crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216 in South Korea. 181 people on board pic.twitter.com/9rQUC0Yxt8
— BNO News (@BNONews) December 29, 2024
The accident was the worst aviation-related incident for a South Korean airliner since Korean Air Flight 801 and the deadliest in the country since Air China Flight 129.
Just after 9 p.m. (local time), authorities confirmed 179 deaths from the accident and said two crew members were rescued.
The two were each transported to a different Seoul hospital after receiving treatment at hospitals near the airport.
The low-cost airliner apologized and vowed to do all it could to help.
“We at Jeju Air will do everything in our power in response to this accident. We sincerely apologise for causing concern,” the airline said in a statement posted on its social media channels.
Investigators are looking into bird strikes and weather conditions as possible factors. Airport authorities said 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. The person's final message was, "Should I say my last words?"
The plane was a Boeing 737-800 jet operated by Jeju Air.
— The Summit Express
