At least 127 people were killed when a Jeju Air Boeing 737 landed without wheels, veering off the runway and erupting in a fireball as it slammed into a wall at South Korea’s Muan International Airport on Sunday, the national fire agency said.
Jeju Air flight 7C2216, arriving from the Thai capital of Bangkok with 181 people on board, was attempting to land shortly after 9am at the airport in the southwest of the country, according to South Korea’s transport ministry.
Two crew members, a man and a woman, were rescued from the tail section of the burning plane, Muan fire chief Lee Jung-hyun told a briefing. The fire was extinguished as of 1pm, Lee said.
“Only the tail part retains a little bit of shape, and the rest of [the plane] looks almost impossible to recognise,” he said.
Authorities have switched from rescue to recovery operations and because of the force of the impact, are searching nearby areas for bodies possibly thrown from the plane, Lee added.
The two crew were being treated at hospitals with medium to severe injuries, said the head of the local public health centre.
01:30
Dozens confirmed dead after Jeju Air flight with 181 people on board crashes in South Korea
Dozens confirmed dead after Jeju Air flight with 181 people on board crashes in South Korea