(Updated with new balance sheet, details)
A plane went off the runway and crashed into a wall at Muan International Airport in southern South Korea on Sunday, killing at least 85 people, South Korean firefighters said.
The accident occurred shortly after 9:00 a.m. (00:00 GMT) during the landing of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800, the South Korean Transport Ministry announced. The plane, coming from the Thai capital Bangkok, was carrying 181 people, the ministry said.
It was the deadliest air disaster involving a South Korean airline in nearly 30 years.
Two crew members were evacuated from the burning aircraft, Muan Fire Chief Lee Jung-hyun said. The fire was put out around 1 p.m., he said.
“Only the rear of the plane retains its shape somewhat. It is almost impossible to recognize the rest (of the plane),” Lee Jung-hyun said.
Rescue operations are now aimed at finding bodies that may have been ejected from the aircraft during impact, Lee Jung-hyun added.
The two crew members who survived the accident, who had serious and serious injuries, were taken to hospital for treatment, the head of the local public health center said.
Yonhap News Agency, citing a fire official, reported that most of the 175 passengers and six crew members were presumed dead.
At least 58 bodies were found but this is a provisional toll, another fire official told Reuters.
Among the leads examined by investigators are a collision between a bird and the plane and weather conditions, Lee Jung-hyun said. Yonhap, citing airport authorities, reported that a collision with a bird could have caused the landing gear to malfunction.
One of the passengers sent a message to a relative to say that a bird was stuck in the wing of the plane, the News1 news agency reported.
Jeju Air broadcast an apology message. Boeing announced in a statement that it was in contact with the airline and “stands ready to assist them.” The company also sent its condolences to the families of the victims.
All domestic and international flights were canceled at Muan Airport, Yonhap reported.
Acting South Korean President Choi Sung-mok arrived at the scene of the accident and announced that the government was mobilizing all its resources to respond after the disaster.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra sent her condolences to the victims' families in a message posted on the social network X.
(Hyunsu Yim, Ju-min Park, Cynthia Kim and Hyunjoo Jin, with David Brunnstrom and Gram Slattery, written by Josh Smith; French version Camille Raynaud)
