At the least 151 individuals have been killed when a passenger airplane caught hearth after skidding off a runway and slamming right into a concrete fence at a South Korean airport.
Two crew members have been rescued after the accident that occurred on Sunday at 9:03am native time (00:03 GMT).
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport mentioned the airplane – a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 jet – was coming back from Bangkok and its passengers included two Thai nationals.
The Nationwide Hearth Company mentioned rescuers raced to drag individuals out of the Jeju Air airplane carrying 181 passengers on the airport within the city of Muan, about 290km (180 miles) south of Seoul.
The hearth company deployed 32 hearth vans and a number of other helicopters to include the fireplace, it mentioned.
At the least 151 individuals — 71 ladies, 71 males and 9 others whose genders weren’t instantly identifiable – died within the hearth, the fireplace company mentioned.
The loss of life toll is anticipated to rise additional as the remainder of the passengers on board the airplane stay lacking about six hours after the incident – making it one of many worst airline disasters to hit South Korea.
Footage of the crash aired by YTN tv confirmed the Jeju Air airplane skidding throughout the airstrip, apparently with its touchdown gear nonetheless closed, and colliding head-on with a concrete wall on the outskirts of the airport.
Different native TV stations aired footage exhibiting thick pillars of black smoke from the airplane engulfed in flames.
Lee Jeong-hyeon, chief of the Muan hearth station, advised a televised briefing that rescue employees are persevering with to seek for our bodies scattered by the crash influence.
The airplane was destroyed, with solely the tail meeting remaining recognizable among the many wreckage, he mentioned.
Staff have been trying into numerous potentialities about what prompted the crash, together with whether or not the plane was struck by birds that prompted mechanical issues, Lee mentioned.
Senior Transport Ministry official Joo Jong-wan individually advised reporters that authorities investigators arrived on the website to analyze the reason for the crash and hearth.
