At least 28 people were killed when an airliner went off the runway and slammed into a wall at South Korea’s Muan International Airport on Sunday, reported Reuters on Sunday based on news from Yonhap agency.
South Korea’s transport ministry said the incident happened at 9.03am local time on Sunday.
Video shared by local media showed the twin-engine aircraft skidding down the runway with no apparent landing gear before slamming into a wall in an explosion of flame and debris. Other photos showed smoke and fire engulfing parts of the plane.
The accident occurred as Jeju Air flight 7C2216, carrying 175 passengers and six crew on a flight from the Thai capital Bangkok, was landing at the airport, about 290 km from capital Seoul.
According to sources of Bernama, most of the passengers were Korean, only two were Thai nationals.
Two people were found alive and rescue operations were still under way, a Muan fire official said. The official could not confirm the reports of the 28 dead.
Firefighters were also said to be attempting to rescue 23 passengers who were in the tail section of the wreckage. South Korea’s emergency office confirmed that two people had been safely rescued.
As reported by local Korean media, a total of 80 rescue firefighters and several firefighting helicopters were dispatched, and the fire was put under control after 43 minutes.
Aviation tracking site FlightRadar24 said the aircraft appeared to be a Boeing 737-800.
South Korean acting President Choi Sang-mok, who was named interim leader of the country on Friday after the previous acting president was impeached amid an ongoing political crisis, ordered all-out rescue efforts. His chief of staff convened an emergency meeting.
