Not less than 151 folks have been killed when a passenger aircraft caught fireplace after skidding off a runway and slamming right into a concrete fence at a South Korean airport.
Two crew members have been rescued after the accident that occurred on Sunday at 9:03am native time (00:03 GMT).
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated the aircraft – a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 jet – was getting back from Bangkok and its passengers included two Thai nationals.
The Nationwide Fireplace Company stated rescuers raced to tug folks out of the Jeju Air aircraft carrying 181 passengers on the airport within the city of Muan, about 290km (180 miles) south of Seoul.
The hearth company deployed 32 fireplace vans and several other helicopters to comprise the hearth, it stated.
Not less than 151 folks — 71 girls, 71 males and 9 others whose genders weren’t instantly identifiable – died within the fireplace, the hearth company stated.
The demise toll is anticipated to rise additional as the remainder of the passengers on board the aircraft stay lacking about six hours after the incident – making it one of many worst airline disasters to hit South Korea.
Footage of the crash aired by YTN tv confirmed the Jeju Air aircraft skidding throughout the airstrip, apparently with its touchdown gear nonetheless closed, and colliding head-on with a concrete wall on the outskirts of the airport.
Different native TV stations aired footage displaying thick pillars of black smoke from the aircraft engulfed in flames.
Lee Jeong-hyeon, chief of the Muan fireplace station, instructed a televised briefing that rescue employees are persevering with to seek for our bodies scattered by the crash influence.
The aircraft was destroyed, with solely the tail meeting remaining recognizable among the many wreckage, he stated.
Staff have been wanting into numerous potentialities about what induced the crash, together with whether or not the plane was struck by birds that induced mechanical issues, Lee stated.
Senior Transport Ministry official Joo Jong-wan individually instructed reporters that authorities investigators arrived on the website to analyze the reason for the crash and fireplace.
