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A least 62 people have died after an airliner carrying 175 passengers and six crew veered off a runway and smashed into a wall at an airport in South Korea.
Footage of the incident showed the Boeing 737-800 skid along the runway on Sunday morning before striking what appeared to be a concrete barrier at high speed and bursting into flames as parts of the fuselage flew into the air.
The accident occurred at around 9am local time, shortly after the plane, Jeju Air flight 7C2216, landed at Muan international airport about 300km south-west of Seoul, at the end of a flight from Bangkok, the Yonhap news agency reported.
Thick plumes of smoke could be seen rising into the sky after the crash. Some photos showed fire engulfing parts of the aircraft.
Early reports quoting a fire official in Muan said two people – a passenger and a crew member – had been found alive inside the wreckage, adding that rescue efforts were continuing. The fire agency said it had mobilised 32 fire engines and scores of firefighters.
Local authorities said they were coordinating with major hospitals in the nearby city of Gwangju to handle casualties.
The plane may have suffered a bird strike that caused the landing gear to fail, according to Yonhap. The flight had reportedly attempted one landing before being forced to “go-around” when the landing gear failed to lower normally.
A Jeju Air spokesperson said it was seeking details of the accident, including its casualties and cause
Rescue workers were attempting to help passengers who had been seated towards the rear of the aircraft, an airport official told Reuters.
Officials said 173 of the passengers were Korean nationals and two were Thai nationals.
The Muan-Bangkok international route was launched just three weeks ago, on 8 December, as part of a broader revival that would see the regional airport operate routes to 18 international destinations across nine countries this winter season, according to Yonhap News.
The national fire agency said the initial fire was brought under control at 9.46am, 43 minutes after the first emergency call was received at 9.03am.
South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, ordered “all available equipment and personnel to be mobilised” for the rescue operation and was heading to the scene of the crash.
The incident is the first major test for Choi, who assumed office on Friday after South Korea’s parliament voted to impeach the previous acting president, Han Duck-soo.
Experts say South Korea’s aviation industry has a solid track record for safety, and this was the first fatal accident Jeju Air, one of South Korea’s largest low-cost carriers, had experienced since it was launched in 2005.
On 12 August 2007, a Bombardier Q400 operated by Jeju Air carrying 74 passengers came off the runway due to strong winds at the southern Busan-Gimhae airport, resulting in a dozen injuries.
Sunday’s crash came almost a year after a Japan Airlines plane struck a coastguard aircraft and burst into flames as it landed at Haneda airport in Tokyo. All 379 passengers and 12 crew managed to exit the aircraft before it was engulfed in flames. Five crew members of the coastguard plane died in the accident.