By Hongji Kim, Hyunsu Yim and Ju-min Park
MUAN, South Korea (Reuters) -At the very least 85 folks have been killed when an airliner landed with out wheels, veering off the runway and erupting in a fireball because it slammed right into a wall at South Korea’s Muan Worldwide Airport on Sunday, the nationwide hearth company stated.
Jeju Air flight 7C2216, arriving from the Thai capital Bangkok with 181 folks on board, was making an attempt to land shortly after 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) on the airport within the south of the nation, South Korea’s transport ministry stated.
The ministry additionally confirmed the casualties within the deadliest air accident involving a South Korean airline in almost three many years.
Two crew members, a person and a lady, have been rescued from the tail part of the burning aircraft, Muan hearth chief Lee Jung-hyun instructed a briefing. The fireplace was extinguished by 1 p.m., Lee stated.
“Solely the tail half retains a bit little bit of form, and the remainder of (the aircraft) appears to be like virtually not possible to recognise,” he stated.
Authorities have switched from rescue to restoration operations and due to the power of the influence, are looking close by areas for our bodies presumably thrown from the aircraft, Lee added.
The 2 crew have been being handled at hospitals with medium to extreme accidents, stated the pinnacle of the native public well being centre.
Yonhap information company cited a fireplace official as saying most of 175 passengers and 6 crew have been presumed useless.
At the very least 58 our bodies have been recovered however that quantity isn’t ultimate, one other hearth official instructed Reuters.
Authorities had labored to rescue folks within the tail part, an airport official instructed Reuters shortly after the crash.
Video shared by native media confirmed the twin-engine plane skidding down the runway with no obvious touchdown gear earlier than slamming right into a wall in an explosion of flame and particles. Different pictures confirmed smoke and hearth engulfing elements of the aircraft.
‘MY LAST WORDS’
The crash is the worst by any South Korean airline since a 1997 Korean Air crash in Guam that killed greater than 200 folks, in keeping with transportation ministry knowledge.
Investigators are trying into hen strikes and climate situations as potential components, Lee stated. Yonhap cited airport authorities as saying a hen strike might have precipitated the touchdown gear to malfunction.
A passenger texted a relative to say a hen was caught within the wing, the News1 company reported. The particular person’s ultimate message was, “Ought to I say my final phrases?”
The passengers included two Thai nationals and the remainder are believed to be South Koreans, in keeping with the transportation ministry.
The aircraft was a Boeing (NYSE:) 737-800 jet operated by Jeju Air, which was in search of particulars of the accident, together with its casualties and trigger, an airline spokesperson stated. The transport ministry stated the aircraft was manufactured in 2009.
Jeju Air posted a message apologising for the accident.
Boeing stated in a emailed assertion, “We’re in touch with Jeju Air concerning flight 2216 and stand able to assist them. We lengthen our deepest condolences to the households who misplaced family members, and our ideas stay with the passengers and crew.”
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
All home and worldwide flights at Muan airport had been cancelled, Yonhap reported.
South Korean performing President Choi Sang-mok, named interim chief of the nation on Friday in an ongoing political disaster, arrived on the scene of the accident and stated the federal government was placing all its assets into coping with the crash.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra despatched condolences to the households of the useless and injured in a put up on X, saying she had instructed the international ministry to offer help.
The ministry stated in an announcement it was in contact with the South Korean authorities.