A Jeju Air flight from the Thai capital Bangkok with 181 passengers on board skidded off the runway at South Korea’s Muan Airport, hit a concrete barrier and caught fire.
Only two people survived the tragedy, two crew members.
The crash was reported in South Jeolla Province at around 9 a.m. Footage of the crash shows the twin-engine Boeing 737-800 taxiing down the runway, catching fire and exploding.
“The government has mobilized all available resources to enable a rapid rescue operation, as well as to deal with the aftermath of the accident, to support the families of the deceased, and to conduct a thorough investigation.” -Park Sang-woo, Minister of Transport.
Jeju Air also expressed its deep apology for the tragedy, the worst involving a South Korean airline in the past 30 years. Family members gathered in a meeting room at Muan International Airport, some screaming and crying after being informed of the list of victims.
A video has gone viral on social media showing the Boeing flying overhead, one of its engines bursting into flames. The official cause of the crash of the South Korean plane remains a mystery, with reports suggesting it may have been hit by a flock of birds or bad weather.
“The left engine was either on fire or was burning, the landing gear was down because of the left engine. However, there is a backup system in the cockpit where there are cables and pull handles that can be used to extend the landing gear. It is a mystery to me that despite the engine failure the crew can manually extend the landing gear.” -Richard Levy, Aviation Expert