Seoul, South Korea, Dec 29: Dozens of people were killed on Sunday when a passenger jet crash-landed at an airport in southwestern South Korea, with the aircraft careening down the runway on its belly before bursting into flames.
At least 85 people have been confirmed dead so far, according to the local fire department. Two people, both crew members, were pulled alive from the crash site however rescuers have warned there is little hope of finding further survivors.
Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 from Bangkok was carrying 175 passengers and six crew when disaster struck at the airport in Muan county, just after 9 a.m. local time Sunday (7 p.m. ET Saturday). The accident was caused by a landing gear malfunction, officials said.
Footage of Sunday’s crash broadcast by multiple South Korean news outlets showed the plane sliding on its belly at high speed, hitting an earthen embankment and erupting in a fireball.
Neither the back nor front landing gear was visible in the footage – broadcast by networks including YTN, JTBC and MBC – as smoke poured from the back of the sliding aircraft.
Firefighters were later seen using water cannons to extinguish the blazing wreckage of the aircraft, which was listed as a Boeing 737-800 on flight-tracking site FlightAware. Several parts of the aircraft were also seen strewn across the runway.
The victims include 39 males and 46 females, according to the South Jeolla Fire Service. Both of the survivors were crew members, one male and one female, according to the rescue team.
Two Thai nationals were among those on board, according to the South Korean Land Ministry, which said officers from the national Incident Investigation Committee arrived on site at 10:10 a.m. (8.10 p.m. EST Saturday) to look into the cause of the accident.
All flights to Muan International Airport have been cancelled, the Korea Airports Corporation said.
South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, has instructed emergency responders to mobilize “all available” equipment and personnel to respond to the crash, according to a press release by the interior and safety ministry.
The tragedy comes only two days into Choi’s acting presidency, the latest chapter in a time of political chaos in South Korea.
The country’s current president, Yoon Suk Yeol, was stripped of his powers by parliament two weeks ago following a short-lived martial law order that plunged the country into political disarray. He is currently suspended while a top court decides his fate.
Han Duck-soo, the man who stepped in to replace Yoon as acting president, was impeached by parliament on Friday, meaning Choi – the finance minister and deputy prime minister – stepped in for him.
