The accident of flight JJA-2216 occurred at 9:03 a.m. local time (00:03 GMT) on Sunday. The plane, a Boeing 737-8AS, was carrying 181 people, including six crew members, between the Thai capital and Muan, located about 290 kilometers south of Seoul.
“So far, two survivors, 151 dead,” firefighters said in a statement. The two survivors, a passenger and a crew member, were extracted alive from the wreckage of the plane, they said earlier.
“The cause of the accident is suspected to be a collision with birds combined with unfavorable weather conditions. However, the exact cause will be announced after an investigation,” said Lee Jeong-hyun, head of the barracks. of Muan firefighters, during a press briefing.
A video broadcast by local channel MBC shows the plane landing with smoke coming from the engines. The plane then appeared to hit an obstacle at the end of the runway and was immediately engulfed in flames.
Images broadcast by Korean television channels show numerous emergency service vehicles and dozens of firefighters working around the carcass of the plane, completely charred except for the tail, and evacuating people on stretchers. bodies wrapped in blue shrouds.
This is the first fatal accident in the history of Jeju Air, one of Korea’s largest low-cost airlines, founded in 2005.
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