Plane bursts into flames after skidding off runway at South Korean airport, killing at least 85

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A passenger jet burst into flames Sunday after skidding off the runway at a South Korean airport and crashing into a concrete fence when its front landing gear apparently failed to unfold, killing at least 85 people, officials said. , in one of the country’s worst aviation disasters.

The National Fire Agency said rescuers rushed to remove people from the Jeju Air passenger plane carrying 181 people at the airport in the city of Muan, about 290 kilometers (180 miles) south of Seoul. The Transport Ministry identified the plane as a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 and said the crash occurred at 9:03 a.m. local time.

At least 85 people – 46 women and 39 men – died in the fire, the agency said. Emergency workers pulled out two people, both crew members, and local health officials said they remained conscious. It said it had deployed 32 fire engines and several helicopters to put out the fire.

Footage of the accident broadcast by YTN television showed the Jeju Air plane skidding down the runway, apparently with its landing gear still closed, and colliding head-on with a concrete wall at the edge of the facility. Other local television stations broadcast footage showing thick plumes of black smoke billowing from the flaming plane.

Lee Jeong-hyeon, head of the Muan Fire Station, said in a televised briefing that rescue workers were still searching for bodies scattered by the impact of the crash. The plane was completely destroyed, with only the tail assembly remaining recognizable among the wreckage, he said.

Workers were looking into various possibilities as to the cause of the crash, including whether the aircraft was struck by birds that caused mechanical problems, Lee said. Senior Transport Ministry official Joo Jong-wan separately told reporters that government investigators had arrived at the scene to investigate the cause of the accident and fire.

Emergency officials in Muan said the plane’s landing gear appeared to have malfunctioned. The Transport Ministry said the plane was returning from Bangkok and that two Thai nationals were among its passengers.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra expressed his deepest condolences to the families of those affected by the accident in a post on social media platform X. Paetongtarn said he had ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide immediate assistance.

Jeju Air expressed its “profound apologies” for the accident in a statement and said it would do “everything possible to manage the consequences of the accident.”

It is one of the deadliest disasters in South Korea’s aviation history. The last time South Korea suffered a major air disaster was in 1997, when a Korean Airline plane crashed in Guam, killing 228 people on board. In 2013, an Asiana Airlines plane crashed in San Francisco, killing three and injuring about 200.

The incident occurred as South Korea is embroiled in a huge political crisis sparked by President Yoon Suk Yeol. the stunning imposition of martial law and impeachment. Last Friday, South Korean lawmakers impeached acting President Han Duck-soo and suspended his duties, leading Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok to take over.

Choi ordered officials to use all available resources to rescue passengers and crew before heading to Muan. Yoon’s office said his chief secretary, Chung Jin-suk, would chair an emergency meeting of senior presidential staff on Sunday to discuss the accident.