Plane bursts into flames at South Korean airport, killing at least 120

The plane crashed into a concrete fence when its front landing gear apparently failed to deploy, officials said.

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.

Emergency workers removed two people, both crew members. 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. The Ministry of Transport said the incident occurred at 9:03 local time.

Local television stations broadcast images showing thick plumes of black smoke billowing from the flaming plane.

Emergency officials in Muan said they were looking into the cause of the fire. They 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.

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.