A Jeju Air flight carrying 181 passengers and crew crashed at Muan International Airport in South Korea on Sunday morning (29), leaving at least 122 people dead, according to the South Jeolla Fire Service.
The aircraft, returning from Bangkok, Thailand, veered off the runway and collided with a wall during landing, bursting into flames. Rescue operations confirmed only two survivors—a male and a female crew member—while most others are presumed dead.
Authorities reported that among the deceased, 54 are men and 57 are women, with the gender of 11 victims yet to be identified. Efforts are ongoing to recover bodies from the tail section of the aircraft.
The cause of the crash remains unclear, though local media suggest bird strikes may have compromised the plane’s systems.
Unverified footage on social media shows the aircraft skidding off the runway, followed by a massive plume of black smoke. Emergency teams, including 80 firefighters and over 30 fire trucks, were deployed to the scene.
This marks the first fatal accident in Jeju Air’s history since its inception in 2005.
Muan, located 288 kilometres south of Seoul, witnessed one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent South Korean history with this crash. The incident cast a shadow over the nation’s strong aviation safety record.
(Images: BBC)
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