Updated Dec. 29, 2024, 08:31 a.m. ET.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – A plane carrying 181 people crashed in a ball of flames as it was attempting to land in South Korea on Sunday, killing all but two of those on board in one of the country’s worst ever air disasters.
Witnesses said they heard explosions and saw flames in an engine of the Jeju Air flight as it was trying to land at about 9:07 a.m. in the city of Muan, and authorities were investigating the possibility that its landing gear failed after a bird strike, the Yonhap News Agency reported.
Video footage broadcast by TV stations showed the Boeing 737-800 plane coming onto a runway without deploying its landing gear. It skidded across the ground, hit a concrete wall, and exploded in a fireball.
“The plane body was almost destroyed, and the dead are difficult to identify. It is taking time to identify the location of the remains and recover them,” the Jeollanam-do Fire Department said.
The official death toll climbed through the day to 179, the AP news agency reported, as bodies were recovered from a smoldering crash site where some 1,500 rescue workers sifted through the wreckage.
Two crew members survived, and were pulled from the broken off rear section of the aircraft, the BBC reported. They were in hospital.
The dead included 85 women, 84 men and 10 whose genders could not be immediately determined, the AP reported.
A “black box” flight data recorder had been recovered, the BBC reported.
The plane was arriving in Muan, 288 kilometers (179 miles) southwest of the capital, Seoul, from Bangkok with 175 passengers and six crew on board.
Most of those on board the were South Koreans, with the exception of two Thai nationals who were among the dead, the Thai foreign ministry said.
Jeju Air chief Kim E-bae made a public apology and extended condolences to the family members who lost their loved ones, vowing to provide all necessary support to the victims' families.
“Regardless of the cause, I take full responsibility,” Kim said.
South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok visited the crash site and told officials to make all-out efforts in their search, and expressing deep condolences to the bereaved. He promised all possible government assistance.
Choi has been serving as acting president since Friday, after the National Assembly voted to impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who was suspended less than two weeks after assuming the role from President Yoon Suk Yeol on Dec. 14.
“I believe no words of consolation will be enough,” Choi said.
“The government will spare no effort in supporting the bereaved families,” the acting president added.
Edited by Mike Firn.
Updates death toll to 179, including two Thais.