A plane carrying 181 people (175 passengers, 6 crew members) crashed at Muan airport, a city located 290 kilometers from the capital Seoul, causing at least 47 deadannounced this Sunday, December 29, the South Korean news agency Yonhap.
“We have so far confirmed the deaths of 47 people,” Lee Hyeon-ji, head of the South Jeolla Fire Department response team, told AFP. “But the toll could rise due to the number of serious injuries”she added. The firefighters specified that at least two people were rescueda passenger and a crew member were rescued.
According to authorities, the accident occurred this Sunday at 9:03 a.m. (00:03 GMT). The plane coming from Bangkok from the South Korean company Jeju Air, crashed and caught fire while landing at Muan. This is the first accident in the history of Jeju Air, one of South Korea's largest low-cost airlines, founded in 2005.
“A contact with the birds”
The accident appears to have been caused by “contact with birds”Yonhap reported. The plane landed on its belly and caught fire when it hit a fence at the end of the runway, the news agency added.
Acting South Korean President Choi Sang-mok called an emergency government meeting. “All relevant agencies…must mobilize all available resources to save people,” he ordered in a statement.
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