A plane carrying 181 passengers crashed Sunday at an airport in the southwest of South Korea.
The death toll from the crash at Muan International Airport has risen to 85, the National Fire Agency said in a statement.
A total of 39 men and 46 women have been killed, it adds.
South Korean news agency Yonhap reporter that most of the 181 passengers are presumed dead, citing the local fire authority.
The accident happened shortly after 09:00 local time – 00:00 GMT – when the plane landed at Muan International Airport.
Footage appearing to showed the crash, which has not yet been verified, showed the aircraft skidding off the runway and crashing into a wall, before part of it bursts into flames.
The aircraft came off the runway and crashed into a wall at Muan International Airport in the south west of the country, the Yonhap news agency reported
The Jeju Air plane, which was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members, was returning from Bangkok in Thailand and crashed as it was landing at just after 09:00 local time
Two people were found alive so far and rescue operations were still under way, a fire official told the Reuters news agency
Yonhap reported that the passengers on board the flight included 173 South Koreans and two Thais. Those confirmed dead include 37 women and 25 men
The cause of the crash is still not known, but local media report it may have been caused by birds getting caught in the plane’s systems
The airline Jeju Air has just issued an apology.
“We at Jeju Air lower our head in apology to everyone who were harmed in this incident at the Muan Airport,” says the statement, which has been translated into English.
“We will do all we can to respond to the incident. We are sorry for the distress.”
The cause of the crash is still not known, but local media reported it may have been caused by birds getting caught in the plane’s system.
This crash is the first fatal accident in the history of Jeju Air, one of South Korea’s largest low-cost airlines, which was set up in 2005.
South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, arrived at the Muan International Airport where a Jeju Air flight crash landed earlier in the day, according to the Transport Ministry on Sunday.
Choi had earlier instructed emergency responders to mobilize “all available” equipment and personnel to respond to the plane crash at the Muan International Airport, according to the press release by the interior and safety ministry.
President for two days: Choi has only been in the job of acting president since Friday. He stepped in after both President Yoon Suk Yeol, and later his replacement Han Duck-soo, were both impeached by parliament as part of an ongoing political crisis that has rocked South Korea over the last few weeks.
A bird strike may have caused the crash-landing of a South Korean airplane at Muan International Airport on Sunday, according to fire officials.
“The cause of this accident is estimated to be the occurrence of a bird strike or bad weather, and the exact cause will be announced later through a joint investigation with related agencies,” the head of the Muan Fire Department, Lee Jeong-hyun, told a media briefing.
Footage of the airport on the morning of the crash showed clear blue skies.
Fire officials have already said they believe some sort of landing gear malfunction contributed to the crash and footage showed the aircraft sliding on its belly before bursting into flames.
Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 was carrying 181 people (175 passengers and six crew) from Bangkok, Thailand to Muan International Airport in South Korea.
So far 85 people are confirmed to have died. Two crew members were rescued alive and transferred to hospitals. Most remaining passengers are presumed dead, according to emergency services.
By Agencies
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