A passenger plane carrying 181 passengers crashed at an airport in South Korea, killing at least 85 people, according to Yonhap news agency. The plane veered off the runway and collided with a wall at Muan International Airport.
The Jeju Airplane, carrying 175 passengers and six crew members, crashed while returning from Bangkok, Thailand. According to Yonhap news agency, two people have been found alive so far, and rescue efforts continue.
According to an airport official, emergency personnel were working to rescue individuals from the aircraft’s tail portion.
Yonhap news agency said the flight carried 173 South Koreans and two Thais.
The cause of the disaster is still unknown; however, local media speculated that birds had become entangled in the plane’s systems.
The National Fire Agency reported that 37 women and 25 men were among the 62 individuals murdered.
Unverified social media footage of the disaster, which occurred shortly after 09:00 local time (00:00 GMT), shows the aircraft slipping off the runway and colliding with a wall before bursting into flames.
Another film depicts a massive plume of black smoke rising into the sky.
According to South Korea’s fire agency, one flight attendant and one passenger have been rescued so far. The agency also reported that 80 firefighters and more than 30 fire engines had been dispatched to the crash site.
Muan is approximately 178 miles (288 kilometers) south of Seoul’s capital.
South Korea’s aviation industry is known for its high safety standards. This is the first fatal accident in the history of Jeju Air, one of South Korea’s leading low-cost carriers that began operations in 2005.
