(NEWSIS via Xinhua)
SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) — At least 47 people were killed and two others were rescued in a plane crash at an airport in the southwest of the Republic of Korea on Sunday, according to several media reports.
The airliner carrying 175 passengers, including 173 South Koreans and two Thais, as well as six crew members, crashed while trying to land at Muan International Airport, around 290 km southwest of the capital Seoul, around 9:07 a.m. local time (00:07 GMT).
Rescue operations are underway to determine other possible victims.
Jeju Air flight 7C2216 from Bangkok, Thailand, went off the runway and crashed into an exterior wall. Its fuselage was cut in two and caught fire.
The accident was believed to have been caused by a collision with birds which led to a malfunction of the landing gear.
After a first attempt to land, unsuccessful due to the probable malfunction of the landing gear, the aircraft returned to the air and made a second attempt to land on its belly which ended in its crash against the wall.
The fire was extinguished some 43 minutes later, thanks to the intervention of around 80 firefighters and helicopters dispatched to the scene.
Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, who became acting president following the impeachments of President Yoon Suk-yeol and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, ordered relevant senior officials to deploy all possible efforts by mobilizing all available material and manpower to rescue the victims.
Choi, also Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, stressed that special care must be taken to ensure that rescuers do not suffer further accidents during rescue operations.
After giving these orders, he went to the scene of the accident. END
