A plane with 181 people on board crashed at South Korea’s Muan airport after it veered off the runway while landing, killing at least 29 people. As per Yonhap news agency, the crash was reported in the South Jeolla province when the Jeju Air flight 2216 was returning from Thailand.
Local media reported at least 29 casualties so far. Two people were rescued by authorities, which continued evacuating passengers from the Boeing 737-800’s rear section.
Among the 181 on board, 175 were passengers and six were flight crew. Emergency services at the airport began operations around 9 am after the aircraft crashed into a fence after a failed belly landing attempt and erupted in flames. Visuals showed black smoke rising above the crash site.
The crash is believed to have been caused by “contact with birds, resulting in malfunctioning landing gear”.
Video | Moment When Plane Went Off Runway, Crashed At South Korea Airport
Acting President Choi Sang-mok called for the mobilisation of all resources to save the passengers. “All related agencies must mobilise all available resources to save the personnel,” he instructed officials in a statement.
Second Plane Crash In A Week
Sunday’s crash comes days after an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane crashed on Wednesday, claiming 38 lives.
Flight J2-8243 crashed and caught fire near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from southern Russia where Ukrainian drones were reported to be attacking several cities.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin apologised to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, for the “tragic incident”. “It was noted in the conversation that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was travelling according to its schedule, repeatedly tried to land at Grozny airport. At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks,” the Kremlin said.