A minimum of 177 lifeless as airplane crashes off runway in South Korea and catches hearth

A minimum of 177 folks have been killed when a jetliner skidded off a runway at a South Korean airport, slammed right into a concrete fence and burst into flames after its entrance touchdown gear failed. or apparently not deployed, officers stated.

The Nationwide Fireplace Company stated rescuers rushed to extract passengers from the Jeju Air airplane carrying 181 folks on the airport within the metropolis of Muan, about 290 km south of Seoul.

The Transport Ministry stated it was a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 getting back from Bangkok and the crash occurred at 9:03 a.m. native time.

A minimum of 177 folks – 84 ladies, 82 males and 11 others whose gender was not instantly identifiable – died within the hearth, firefighters stated.

The demise toll is anticipated to rise additional as the opposite folks on board the airplane are nonetheless lacking roughly six hours after the incident.

Rescuers introduced two folks, each crew members, to security, and native well being authorities stated they remained acutely aware.

Firefighters deployed 32 hearth vehicles and a number of other helicopters to comprise the hearth. About 1,560 firefighters, cops, troopers and different officers have been additionally dispatched to the scene, in keeping with the assertion.

Footage of the accident broadcast by YTN tv confirmed the Jeju Air airplane skidding off the runway, apparently with its touchdown gear nonetheless closed, and colliding head-on with a concrete wall on the outskirts of the set up.

Different native tv channels broadcast pictures exhibiting thick plumes of black smoke escaping from the airplane, which was engulfed in flames.

Lee Jeong-hyeon, chief of the Muan hearth station, advised a televised briefing that the airplane was destroyed, with solely the tail remaining recognizable among the many wreckage.

He stated staff have been investigating varied prospects as to the reason for the crash, together with whether or not the airplane was struck by birds.

Transportation Division officers later stated their preliminary evaluation of communications data confirmed the airport management tower had issued a fowl strike warning to the airplane shortly earlier than it meant to land and had given its pilot permission to land in a unique space.

The pilot despatched a misery sign shortly earlier than the airplane overshot the runway and crossed a buffer zone earlier than hitting the wall, officers stated.

Joo Jong-wan, a senior Transport Ministry official, stated staff had retrieved flight information and voice recorders from the airplane’s cockpit, which shall be examined by authorities specialists, and that the airport runway de Muan can be closed till January 1st.

Rescue officers in Muan stated the airplane’s touchdown gear appeared to have malfunctioned.

The Transport Ministry stated the airplane’s passengers included two Thai nationals.

In a message on social platform X, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra expressed his honest condolences to the households of these affected by the accident. She stated she had ordered the International Ministry to offer quick help.

Kerati Kijmanawat, Thailand’s director of airports, confirmed in an announcement that Jeju Air Flight 7C 2216 took off from Suvarnabhumi Airport with no irregular circumstances reported on the airplane or on the runway.

Jeju Air issued an announcement expressing its “deep apologies” for the accident and stated it could do “every thing potential to cope with the aftermath of the accident.”

In a televised information convention, the airline’s chief government, Kim E-bae, bowed deeply with different senior airline officers whereas apologizing to the bereaved households and stated that he felt “fully accountable” for the incident.

He stated the corporate had not recognized any mechanical issues with the airplane following common checks and would await the outcomes of presidency investigations into the reason for the incident.

Boeing stated in an announcement on X that it was in touch with Jeju Air and able to help the corporate in dealing with the accident.

“We prolong our deepest condolences to the households who’ve misplaced family members, and our ideas stay with the passengers and crew,” it learn.

It was one of many deadliest disasters in South Korean aviation historical past.

The final time South Korea suffered a large-scale air catastrophe was in 1997, when a Korean airline airplane crashed in Guam, killing 228 folks on board. In 2013, an Asiana Airways airplane crashed in San Francisco, killing three folks and injuring round 200.

Sunday’s crash was additionally one of many worst touchdown accidents since July 2007, which killed all 187 folks on board and 12 others on the bottom when an Airbus A320 slid off a slippery touchdown strip. in Sao Paulo and had collided with a close-by constructing, in keeping with the information. compiled by the Flight Security Basis, a nonprofit group geared toward enhancing aviation security.

In 2010, 158 folks died when an Air India Categorical airplane overshot a runway in Mangalore, India, and plunged right into a gorge earlier than catching hearth, in keeping with the security basis.

The incident occurred as South Korea is plunged into a large political disaster triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s beautiful imposition of martial regulation and subsequent impeachment.

Final Friday, South Korean politicians eliminated interim President Han Duck-soo from workplace and suspended him, main Vice Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok to take over.

Mr Choi ordered authorities to make use of all accessible sources to rescue passengers and crew earlier than heading in direction of Muan.

Mr. Yoon’s workplace stated his chief secretary, Chung Jin-suk, would chair an emergency assembly amongst senior presidential officers in a while Sunday to debate the accident.