South Korea: what we know about the crash which left at least 179 dead

The crash of a Jeju Air plane while landing in South Korea, likely following a collision with birds, left at least 179 dead on Sunday, the worst air disaster in the country’s history .

Almost all of the 181 occupants of flight JJA-2216, which was flying from Bangkok to Muan in southwestern South Korea, were killed in the crash. The chances of finding other survivors, in addition to the two crew members extracted from the burning carcass shortly after the accident early in the morning, are diminishing as the hours pass.

A collision with birds during flight

The accident happened at 9:03 a.m. (0003 GMT) on Sunday, authorities said. The control tower warned the flight crew of a bird strike. The pilot issued a warning message (“Mayday”) before crashing two minutes later while attempting to land.

“The cause of the accident is presumed to be a collision with birds combined with adverse weather conditions. However, the exact cause will be announced following an investigation”Lee Jeong-hyun, head of the fire station in Muan, a city located about 290 kilometers south of Seoul, said at a press briefing.

A video broadcast by local channel MBC shows the aircraft – a Boeing 737-8AS which entered service in 2009, according to the specialist site Flightradar – landing with smoke escaping from the engines. The plane hit a wall at the end of the runway and was immediately engulfed in flames.

Boeing offers its “sincere apologies”

“The passengers were ejected from the plane when it collided with a barrier, leaving them with little chance of survival”said a local fire official during a meeting with the victims’ families. “The plane is almost completely destroyed and the identification of the deceased is proving difficult”he added.

Debris from seats and suitcases littered the ground around the track, reflecting the violence of the impact. In the terminal, tearful relatives were gathered waiting for information, the screens usually listing departures and arrivals displaying the names, dates of birth and nationalities of the victims.

Acting head of state appointed Friday in a country shaken by a serious political crisis, Choi Sang-mok chaired an emergency government meeting and went to Muan in the afternoon. “All agencies concerned (…) must mobilize all available resources to save people”he ordered in a press release.

The manufacturer Boeing indicated that it was in contact with Jeju Air and was “ready to support them”. “We offer our sincere apologies,” wrote the company in a press release published Sunday on its social networks.