((Automatic translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer https://bit.ly/rtrsauto))
*
Video shows plane skidding without landing gear before exploding
*
Two people were saved alive, according to firefighters
*
Jeju Air plane arrived from Bangkok
*
The plane was a Boeing 737-800, according to the airline.
*
Deadliest air accident in South Korea since 1997
(The results of South Korea's deadliest air disaster since 1997 have been reviewed and corrected, with the addition of an important milestone, comments from health and fire officials, Boeing, the South Korean president by Acting and Prime Minister of Thailand, as well as change of date and signature) by Hongji Kim, Hyunsu Yim and Ju-min Park
At least 85 people were killed when a wheelless airliner landed, went off the runway and caused a fireball when it slammed into a wall at South Korea's Muan International Airport. » declared the national fire agency.
Jeju Air flight 7C2216, from the Thai capital Bangkok, with 181 people on board, was attempting to land shortly after 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) at the southern airport, the South Korean Ministry of Defense said. Transportation.
The ministry also confirmed the death toll from the deadliest air crash involving a South Korean airline in nearly three decades.
Two crew members, a man and a woman, were rescued from the tail of the burning plane, Muan Fire Chief Lee Jung-hyun said at a news conference. The fire was extinguished at 1 p.m., Mr Lee said.
“Only the tail of the plane retained some shape, and the rest (of the plane) is almost impossible to recognize,” he added.
Authorities have shifted from rescue operations to recovery operations and, due to the force of the impact, are searching nearby areas for bodies that may have been thrown by the plane, Lee added.
Both crew members are being treated in hospital for moderate to serious injuries, the head of the local public health center said.
Yonhap news agency quoted a fire official as saying that most of the 175 passengers and six crew members were presumed dead.
At least 58 bodies have been found, but the figure is not final, another fire official told Reuters.
Authorities worked to save people in the tail of the plane, an airport official told Reuters shortly after the crash.
Video broadcast by local media shows the twin-engine plane skidding across the runway with no visible landing gear before crashing into a wall in an explosion of flames and debris. Other photos show smoke and fire engulfing parts of the plane.
MY LAST WORDS
According to data from the Ministry of Transport, this accident is the most serious suffered by a South Korean airline since that of Korean Air in Guam in 1997, which left more than 200 dead.
Investigators are looking at bird strikes and weather conditions as possible factors, Mr Lee said. Yonhap cited airport authorities as saying a bird strike may have caused the landing gear to malfunction.
A passenger texted a relative to say a bird was stuck in the wing, News1 reported. The person's last message was: “Should I say my last words?”
The passengers included two Thai nationals and the others were believed to be South Koreans, according to the Transport Ministry.
The plane was a Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air, which is seeking details of the crash, including casualties and causes, an airline spokesperson said. The Transport Ministry said the plane was built in 2009.
Jeju Air released a message apologizing for the accident.
Boeing said in an emailed statement: “We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding Flight 2216 and stand ready to provide support. We extend our deepest condolences to the families who have lost loved ones, and our thoughts are with the passengers and crew. »
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
All domestic and international flights at Muan Airport have been canceled, Yonhap reported.
Acting South Korean President Choi Sang-mok, appointed Friday to lead the country in the midst of a political crisis, arrived at the scene of the accident and said the government was using all its resources to deal with the disaster.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra offered condolences to the families of the dead and injured in a message posted on X, saying she had asked the Foreign Ministry to provide assistance.
The ministry said in a statement that it was in contact with South Korean authorities.
