Plane carrying 181 passengers catches fire while landing at S. Korean airport, at least 47 confirmed dead

South Korean emergency services say 47 people have died after a plane caught fire while landing at an airport in the country's south.

The plane carrying 181 people was engulfed by fire when it skidded off the runway just after landing and hit a barrier. The country's emergency office said its landing gear appeared to have malfunctioned.

The National Fire Agency says a total of 47 people on board were found dead following the incident.

“So far, two people rescued and 47 deaths confirmed,” the National Fire Agency said in a statement, while the rescue operation was underway.

Footage of the accident broadcast by YTN television showed the Jeju Air plane skidding off the runway, apparently with its landing gear still closed, and colliding head-on with a concrete wall on the outskirts of the installation. The Transport Ministry said the incident occurred at 9:03 a.m. local time.

The National Fire Agency said the fire was almost out, but authorities were still trying to evacuate passengers from the Jeju Air jetliner at Muan Airport in the south.

Rescuers removed two people: a passenger and a crew member. It said it had deployed 32 fire trucks and several helicopters to contain the fire. Emergency services said they were investigating the cause of the fire.

Local television channels broadcast images showing thick cushions of black smoke escaping from the plane engulfed in flames.

The incident occurred as South Korea is plunged into a massive political crisis triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol's stunning imposition of martial law and subsequent impeachment. Last Friday, South Korean lawmakers removed interim President Han Duck-soo and suspended him from office, leaving Vice Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok to take over.

Choi ordered authorities to use all available resources to rescue the passengers and crew, according to Yonhap news agency. Yoon's office said his chief secretary, Chung Jin-suk, would chair an emergency meeting among senior presidential officials later Sunday to discuss the accident.