Flames rise from the wreckage of the Jeju Air passenger plane that crashed at the Muan International Airport in Muan, South Jeolla Province, about 288 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on Dec. 29, 2024, in this photo provided by a Yonhap reader. (Yonhap)
At least 124 people have died and two were rescued after a Jeju Air passenger jet carrying 181 people erupted in flames as it went off the runway and hit a wall at an airport in South Korea’s southwestern county of Muan on Sunday, authorities said, in the nation’s one of the deadliest aviation disasters.
All but the two are presumed to have been killed. The accident happened at 9:07 a.m. when the Jeju Air flight veered off the runway while landing and collided with a fence wall at Muan International Airport in Muan County, South Jeolla Province, about 288 kilometers southwest of Seoul.
Except for the two rescued from the accident, everyone aboard is presumed to have been killed, firefighting authorities said.
The authorities had confirmed 124 deaths from the accident as of 3:18 p.m.
Operations were underway to retrieve the bodies of the victims.
This photo, provided by a Yonhap reader, shows the plane crash site at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Jeolla Province, on Dec. 29, 2024. (Yonhap)
Videos aired by local TV stations show the plane attempting to land without its landing gear deployed. The aircraft skidded along the ground, crashing into a concrete wall before exploding and engulfing flames.
“After the plane collided with the wall, passengers were thrown out of the aircraft. The chances of survival are extremely low,” a firefighting agency official said.
“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.”
Only the two crew members survived the accident as they were rescued shortly after the crash. They were being treated at separate hospitals in Mokpo, and their injuries were not life-threatening.
The Boeing 737-80Firefighting authorities carry out rescue operations at the plane crash site at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Jeolla Province, in this photo provided by a Yonhap reader on Dec. 29, 2024. (Yonhap)
0 plane departed from Bangkok at 1:30 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive in Muan at around 8:30 a.m. A total of 181 people, including six crew members, were aboard the plane.
Most of the passengers were Koreans, except for two Thai nationals.
A temporary morgue has been set up inside the Muan airport to lay the bodies of the victims.
Officials believe the landing gear failure, possibly due to a bird strike, may have caused the accident. They began an on-site investigation to determine the exact cause.
The South Jeolla authorities raised emergency alerts to the highest levels and deployed all available rescue and police personnel to the accident site.
Acting President Choi Sang-mok declared Muan County a special disaster zone when he visited the crash site to instruct officials to make all-out efforts for search operations.
Choi also expressed deep condolences to the bereaved family members and promised to offer them all possible government assistance.
The presidential office convened an emergency meeting of top secretaries earlier in the day and decided to maintain a round-the-clock emergency system for timely responses to the search and other operations.
At the meeting, presided over by Presidential Chief of Staff Chung Jin-suk, the officials also discussed ways to coordinate interagency efforts regarding the accident probe and medical and other support.
Acting National Police Agency Commissioner-General Lee Ho-young also ordered officials to mobilize all available resources and work with firefighting and other related agencies to help rescue efforts.
Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae issued an apology and extended condolences to the family members who lost their loved ones, vowing to provide all necessary support to the victims’ families.
“Regardless of the cause, I take full responsibility as the CEO,” Kim said.
A passenger rescued from the plane crash at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Jeolla Province, is transported to a hospital in Mokpo, a city in the same province, on Dec. 29, 2024. (Yonhap)