Seoul: The South Korean passenger plane that crashed at Muan International Airport on Sunday, reportedly suffered a landing gear malfunction before it met with a tragic fate, leaving over 80 dead, news agency AP, citing emergency officials, reported.
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.
South Korean Plane Crashes During Landing
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.
The South Korean aircraft is learnt to have carrying 175 passengers and six crew members.
The transport ministry said the plane was returning from Bangkok and its passengers include two Thai nationals.
Plane Crash Toll at 85
So far as many as 85 people have been declared dead after a Jeju Air plane, with 181 passengers onboard, crashed at Muan International Airport 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.
Thailand PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra Condoles Deaths
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.
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