Written by Kim Hong-ji, Park Ju-min, Im Hyun-soo
MUAN COUNTY, South Korea (Reuters) – At least 124 people were killed on Sunday when a passenger plane landed without wheels, veered off the runway and crashed into a wall at South Korea’s Muan International Airport, causing a fireball and killing at least 124 people. This was announced by the National Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Said.
According to South Korea’s Ministry of Transport, Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, which arrived from Thailand’s capital Bangkok with 181 people on board, was about to land at an airport in southern Thailand just after 9 a.m. (midnight Japan time).
This was the deadliest aviation accident involving a South Korean airline in nearly 30 years, according to ministry data.
Video from local media shows the twin-engine Boeing (NYSE:) 737-800 skidding down the runway with no landing gear in sight before crashing into a wall in an explosion of flames and debris. Other photos showed parts of the plane engulfed in smoke and flames.
Muan Fire Department Chief Lee Jong-hyun said at a press conference that two crew members, a man and a woman, were rescued from the back of the burning plane. The fire was under control as of 1 p.m., Lee said.
“Only the tail section retains its shape a little, and the rest of the plane (the plane) looks almost unrecognizable,” he said.
Authorities have switched from rescue operations to recovery operations and are searching the area for bodies that may have been thrown from the plane due to the strength of the impact, Lee added.
The director of a local health center said two crew members suffered moderate to serious injuries and were being treated at a hospital.
“My last words”
Hours after the accident, mortuary vehicles lined up to remove bodies, and authorities announced that a temporary morgue had been set up.
A Reuters witness said the crash site smelled of aviation fuel and blood, and workers in protective suits and masks combed the scene while soldiers searched through brush.
Yonhap News reported, citing fire officials, that most of the 175 passengers and six crew members are presumed dead.
An airport official told Reuters shortly after the crash that authorities were working to rescue people in the rear section.
The crash was the worst for a South Korean airline since the 1997 Korean Air crash in Guam, which killed more than 200 people, according to Department of Transportation data.
Lee said investigators are looking into bird strikes and weather conditions as possible factors. Yonhap News Agency, citing airport authorities, said the landing gear may have malfunctioned due to a bird strike.
Department of Transportation officials said the control tower issued a bird strike warning and the pilot declared a mayday shortly afterward, but did not say whether they announced the plane had struck a bird.
Officials said the plane made an ill-fated attempt to land about a minute after the mayday call.
The passenger sent a text message to a relative saying there was a bird stuck in the wing, News1 news agency reported. That person’s last message was, “Can I have the last word?”
According to the Ministry of Transport, the passengers included two Thai nationals, and the rest are believed to be Korean nationals.
According to the Ministry of Transportation, the Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by Jeju Air were manufactured in 2009.
Jeju Air insists that bereaved families are given top priority
Jeju Air CEO Kim Ae-bae bowed deeply in a video conference and apologized for the accident.
He said the cause of the crash was still unknown, the plane had no record of accidents and there were no early signs of failure. Kim said the airline will cooperate with law enforcement authorities and prioritize support for the families of the victims.
No unusual conditions were reported when the plane departed from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, said Kerati Kijimanawat, president of Thai Airports.
Founded in 2005, Jeju Air is a low-cost airline that operates numerous domestic flights as well as international flights to Japan, Thailand, and the Philippines.
“We have been in contact with Jeju Air regarding Flight 2216 and stand ready to assist,” Boeing said in an emailed statement. My thoughts haven’t changed,” he said.
The Federal Aviation Administration did not respond to a request for comment.
According to Yonhap News, all domestic and international flights at Muan Airport have been cancelled.
South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok, who was appointed interim leader on Friday amid the ongoing political crisis, arrived at the scene of the accident and said the government was putting all its efforts into responding to the incident.
Two Thai women, aged 22 and 45, were on board the plane, Thai government spokesperson Jirayu Hoonsep said, adding that details were still being confirmed.
Thai Prime Minister Pethunthaan Shinawatra said in a post on X that he had expressed his condolences to the families of those killed and injured and had directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide support.
The ministry said in a statement that it was in contact with South Korean authorities.
