Seoul, South Korea
CNN
—
A passenger plane crashed at an airport in southwestern South Korea on Sunday, skidding on its belly down the runway before bursting into flames, killing dozens of people.
According to the local fire department, at least 85 people have been confirmed dead so far. Two people, both crew members, were pulled alive from the crash site, but rescuers warned there was little chance of finding any more survivors.
Jeju Air Flight 7C 2216 from Bangkok was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members when the disaster occurred at the airport in Muan County just after 9 a.m. local time (7 p.m. Eastern time Saturday). Officials said the accident was caused by a landing gear failure.
Footage of Sunday’s crash broadcast by multiple South Korean news outlets showed the plane skidding on its belly at high speed, hitting an earthen embankment and erupting in a fireball.
Footage broadcast on networks such as YTN, JTBC and MBC showed smoke pouring out from the rear of the plane as it taxied, with neither the rear landing gear nor the front landing gear visible.
Firefighters were later seen using water cannons to extinguish the burning wreckage of the aircraft, which was listed on FlightAware as a Boeing 737-800. Several parts of the aircraft were also seen scattered on the runway.
According to the Jeollanam Fire Department, the victims were 39 men and 46 women. According to the rescue team, all survivors were crew members, one male and one female.
South Korea’s Ministry of Land and Land Affairs said that two Thai nationals were among the passengers, and that officials from the country’s accident investigation committee had arrived to investigate the cause of the accident.
Rescue workers will search for the “black box” flight data recorder after recovering the bodies of the remaining victims, the Ministry of Transport said at a press conference. The recorder provides aviation safety investigators with important facts when piecing together what happened after the accident.
The ministry added that more than 700 people from the police, military and coast guard were mobilized for response operations at the scene.
According to the Korea Airports Corporation, all flights to Muan International Airport have been cancelled.
South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, arrived at the crash site in the early afternoon. Choi had earlier instructed emergency response forces to mobilize “all available” equipment and personnel to respond to the incident, according to a press release from the Ministry of Interior and Security.
The tragedy occurred just two days after Choi was inaugurated as acting president, the latest chapter in a period of political turmoil in South Korea.
The country’s current president, Yoon Seok-yeol, was stripped of his powers by Congress two weeks ago following a brief period of martial law that plunged the country into political turmoil. He is currently suspended until the Supreme Court decides his fate.
Han Deok-soo, who replaced Yoon as acting president, was impeached by the National Assembly on Friday, and Choi (Minister of Finance and vice prime minister) took his place.
Aviation journalists said Sunday’s crash was “very puzzling” given that both the aircraft and the carrier had strong safety records and the flying conditions were favorable.
Jeffrey Thomas, editor of Airline News, said the Boeing 737-800 is one of the most widely used aircraft in the world, with each aircraft flying about four to five flights a day. He told CNN’s Paula Newton.
“It is the most reliable aircraft in the world and has been in service for 20 years,” he said. “Everyone knows how it works, and it works really well. And the maintenance done in South Korea (Korea) is as good as it is done all over the world. Masu.”
South Korean fire authorities said there may have been a problem with the landing gear, and footage showed the plane sliding on its belly.
“It’s a little unclear whether the undercarriage collapsed on landing or whether the undercarriage didn’t deploy at all. This is a really serious issue and will obviously be very focused by law enforcement.” said Mr. Thomas.
He added that it was “perplexing” that the crash occurred, given that it landed at a good airport and under dry, clear skies.
