South Korea Plane With 181 Onboard Crashes at Muan Airport, Death Toll Rises to 179

Seoul: As many as 176 people were killed after a passenger plane, with 181 passengers onboard, crashed at Muan International Airport in South Korea on Sunday, news agency AP, citing country's fire agency, reported. This is one of the country's worst aviation disasters.

AP quoting emergency officials reported that the aircraft's landing gear appeared to have malfunctioned. The National Fire Agency said that a total of 85 people on board the flight were found dead as a result of the incident.

The tragedy unfolded at around around 9 am (local time) when the Jeju Air flight was landing at the Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province, about 288 kilometers away from the capital Seoul, media reports quoted officials as saying. The passenger plane landed with reported landing gear malfunction. Media reports suggest that emergency officials suspect a bird strike behind the malfunctioning of the landing gear of the plane.

Plane Veered Off Runway Before Crash

The South Korean aircraft is learnt to have carrying 175 passengers and six crew members.

As per South Korea's emergency office, the fire was doused and rescue officials were trying to remove passengers from the plane at the airport in the South Korean city of Muan. News agency AP reported that flight was returning from Bangkok. 

The transport ministry said the plane was returning from Bangkok and its passengers include two Thai nationals. 

Earlier, it was reported that the plane with malfunctioning landing gear veered off the runway, hit a fence and caught fire on Sunday at an airport in southern South Korea, according to the emergency office and local media.  

Earlier AP had reported that among the 62 people who died included — 37 women and 25 men — in the incident. Emergency workers pulled out two people — one passenger and one crew member. It said it deployed 32 fire trucks and several helicopters to contain the fire.

Exact Cause of Plane Crash Unknown 

According to Reuters, two people were found to be alive as the rescue mission was ongoing at the Muan airport. AP, citing a South Korean media agency, reported that the aircraft veered off the runway and collided with a fence before catching fire.

Meanwhile, the emergency officials said they were examining the exact cause of the fire. Meanwhile, A CNN report cited the fire department stating that the accident was caused due to a landing gear malfunction.

Videos have emerged on social media which shows the passenger plane driving off the runway before turning into a fireball. The footage of the crash showed the Jeju Air plane skidding across the airstrip, apparently with its landing gear still closed, and colliding head-on with a concrete wall on the outskirts of the facility. 

The footage also shows a plume of smoke coming out of the plane engulfed by flames.

Thailand PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra Condoles Death

Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, expressed deep condolences to the families of those affected by the accident through a post on social platform X. Paetongtarn said she had ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide assistance immediately.

"I would like to express my condolences to the families of the deceased and injured. I have ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to urgently investigate whether there are any Thai passengers on this plane and what the current situation is. I have ordered immediate assistance. If there are Thai passengers, please contact their families to inform them of the progress and have the Ministry of Foreign Affairs report the situation at all times (sic)," Thailand PM tweeted.

It’s one of the deadliest disasters in South Korea’s aviation history. The last time South Korea witnessed a large-scale air disaster was in 1997, when an Korean Airline plane crashed in Guam, killing 228 people on board.

The incident came as South Korea is embroiled into a huge political crisis triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s stunning imposition of martial law and ensuing impeachment. Last Friday, South Korean lawmakers impeached acting President Han Duck-soo and suspended his duties, making Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok to take over.

Choi ordered officials to employ all available resources to rescue the passengers and crew before he headed to Muan. Yoon’s office said his chief secretary, Chung Jin-suk, will preside over an emergency meeting between senior presidential staff later on Sunday to discuss the crash.