South Korea: Rescuers assume 179 dead after plane crash

A passenger plane with 181 passengers on board crashed while landing at Muan Airport in South Korea. There were probably only two survivors, as the official Yonhap news agency reported, citing the fire department. This would make it one of the worst aircraft accidents in years. According to Yonhap, there were a total of 173 South Korean and two Thai passengers as well as six crew members on board the plane.

The Boeing 737-8AS of the South Korean low-cost airline Jeju Air, which had come from the Thai capital Bangkok, overshot the runway shortly after 9 a.m. (local time) and crashed into a safety fence behind the runway.

A video shown on South Korean television showed the plane skidding along the runway without the landing gear down, crashing at the end of the route and bursting into flames. According to Yonhap, several eyewitnesses on the ground reported seeing fire on one of the turbines and hearing several bangs.

Yonhap reported, citing authorities, that a bird strike – a collision with one or more birds – could have caused the landing gear to malfunction. Accordingly, the pilots made a first attempt to land, but aborted it and then attempted a crash landing. However, they apparently did not manage to sufficiently reduce the speed of the aircraft that touched down with the fuselage before the end of the runway was reached.

Images taken from a distance initially showed huge, dark plumes of smoke over the scene of the accident. Photos published later showed burning wreckage and charred debris from the destroyed aircraft, as well as fire engines from the fire department. Dozens of rescue workers were deployed at the scene of the accident, extinguishing the flames and rescuing surviving passengers. At the same time, investigations into the cause of the accident began.

The two rescued survivors were taken to a hospital. There are two crew members, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing the authorities. It was also said that one of the two people discovered smoke on one of the engines.

All further flights to and from Muan have been canceled. The international airport, which opened in 2007 after ten years of construction, is located in the southwestern province of Jeolla – almost 300 kilometers from the capital Seoul. Western airlines do not fly to the airport.

Jeju Air posted a letter of apology online. “We deeply apologize to everyone affected by the incident at Muan Airport,” the airline wrote on its website. The company regrets the suffering caused and will do everything in its power to clarify the accident.

In the midst of the ongoing national crisis in South Korea, President Choi Sang Mok, who was only acting in an acting capacity, ordered comprehensive rescue measures and went to the scene of the accident.