All but two people on board are feared dead in the violent plane crash in South Korea. Just a minute before the pilot shouted "Mayday," the air traffic control tower reportedly warned of birds in the area.
The accident occurred as the plane, which had come from Bangkok, was about to land just after 9 a.m. local time. The plane, with 181 people on board, skidded off the runway and crashed into a wall, whereupon it caught fire.
Pictures showed large flames and thick, black smoke rising from the plane.
”"Passengers were thrown from the aircraft after it collided with the wall, making the chance of survival small," the local emergency services said.
Two people, both flight crew, were rescued from the plane.
The aircraft attempted an emergency landing after the first landing attempt failed. For unknown reasons, the plane also failed to deploy its landing gear.
However, the plane, a Boeing 737-8AS, appears to have failed to slow down after landing and crashed at high speed into the wall at the airport's outer edge. A bird strike is believed to have partly caused the landing gear problem.
The airport control tower issued a bird strike warning at 8:57 a.m., and a minute later the plane issued a ”Mayday” distress signal. The crash occurred five minutes later, according to the airport, Yonhap reports.
The plane is completely destroyed. and only its rear part remains. One of the plane's black boxes has been found, according to authorities.
167 people have been confirmed dead so far, but South Korean authorities fear that all but two of the 175 passengers and six crew members on board have died.
The National Police Agency has sent nearly 170 forensic investigators to help identify the victims.
The plane belonged to the South Korean company Jeju Air and most of the passengers were Koreans. Two people were Thai citizens.
”"Jeju Air will do everything in its power to handle the accident," a spokesperson for the company told Yonhap.
”The aircraft has been in operation for 15 years with no history of accidents.”
The manufacturer of the aircraft, Boeing has contacted the airline and is ready to support, the company writes on X.
South Korea's acting president Choi Sang-Mok is in Muan. He has called an emergency meeting with the government to discuss the rescue effort and promises full government support to grieving families.
”No words of comfort will be enough for the families affected by such a tragedy,” he says.
Choi became acting president just a few days ago in the midst of South Korea's ongoing political crisis.
Source: TT-DI.SE
