A South Korean airliner crashed during an emergency landing at Muan Airport on Sunday morning. South Korean authorities said 179 of the 181 people on board were presumed dead.
Two survivors, two crew members, were pulled from the tail section and are being treated at a nearby hospital, Yonhap News reported. Rescue teams are continuing to search the wreckage as not all of the passengers have been found.
The Boeing 737-800 attempted a belly landing at around 9:03 a.m. local time after its landing gear reportedly failed to open.
Witnesses reported hearing a loud bang before the plane hit an airport wall, broke in two and caught fire. Local television channel MBC aired footage that appeared to show a bird strike as the plane descended.
An investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.
If the death toll is confirmed, it would be South Korea’s worst domestic civil aviation accident and the first major fatality involving a low-cost carrier in the country’s history, the JoongAng Ilbo reported.
South Korea’s acting president Choi Sang-mok declared a special disaster zone in Muan. This makes central government funding available to local authorities and victims.
“We have a serious situation where there was a huge loss of life after a plane skidded off the runway at Muan Airport this morning. I express my deepest condolences to the many victims in the incident. I will do my best to ensure a speedy recovery for the injured. I express my condolences to the victims and my sincere condolences to the bereaved families,” the president said.
Previous major accidents on Korean soil include the 1993 Asiana Airlines crash in Mokpo that killed 68 people and the 2002 Air China crash near Gimhae Airport that killed 129 of 166 passengers, Klix.ba writes.
