No fewer than 179 people have reportedly perished when a passenger plane crashed in South Korea.
The tragic incident happened early this morning, Sunday, December 29, 2024 when the aircraft collided with a wall at the Airport and exploded after landing on its belly at the Muan International Airport in Muan County, South Korea.
The Jeju Air flight was coming from Bangkok and was trying to land at Muan International Airport when it veered off the runway.
Both local fire officials and aviation experts say some sort of landing gear malfunction was likely.
Two people have been pulled from the wreckage, both crew members. However, rescuers have warned that they do not expect to find many more survivors from the inferno.
The Jeju Air jetliner was carrying 175 passengers and six crew when it crash-landed at the airport in Muan county. All on board were South Korean except for two Thai nationals.
Apart from the two rescued victims, the remainder of the 181 passengers and crew on board have been presumed dead.
“Jeju Air will spare no effort to respond to the accident.
“We are currently working to determine the exact cause and details of the situation,” an official of Jeju Air said.
“The aircraft has been in operation for 15 years with no history of accidents,” Jeju Air said in a statement.
South Korean authorities meanwhile have confirmed 96 dead so far from counting dead bodies they have been able to identify.
“We deeply apologize to all those affected by the incident at Muan Airport. We will make every effort to resolve the situation. We sincerely regret the distress caused,” said the statement posted on Jeju Air’s website.
Boeing has extended its condolences to those who lost loved ones in the air crash in South Korea and said it was in contact with the carrier Jeju Air.
Jeju Air flight 2216 from Bangkok, which is listed on flight tracking sites as a Boeing 737-800, crashed on Sunday morning at Muan International Airport.
“We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding Flight 2216 and stand ready to support them,” Boeing said in a short statement posted to its X account.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew,” the company added.
US aviation giant, Boeing has had a turbulent time in recent years, including two 737 Max crashes, a tragedy for which the company agreed to plead guilty to deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration during the certification process for the plane.
See a video of the aircraft colliding with a wall and exploding here.
