A file photo of a Jeju Air plane
CAIRO – 29 December 2024: A passenger plane erupted in flames on Sunday after skidding off a runway at an airport in South Korea and crashing into a concrete barrier, reportedly due to a failure in its front landing gear.
This tragic incident has resulted in the deaths of 179 people of a total of 181 people onboard. Emergency responders managed to rescue two crew members, who are conscious and in stable condition.
The Jeju Air flight was landing in Muan town, south of the capital, Seoul. According to the Transport Ministry, the 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 jet was returning from Bangkok when the crash occurred early in the morning.
The South Korean fire agency reported that among the deceased were 84 women, 82 men, and 11 individuals whose genders were not immediately confirmed.
BREAKING: New video shows moment Boeing 737-800 plane carrying 181 people onboard crashes at Muan International Airport in South Korea.
— AZ Intel (@AZ_Intel_) December 29, 2024
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To combat the blaze, the fire agency said it dispatched 32 fire trucks and several helicopters to the scene, involving around 1,560 firefighters, police officers, soldiers, and other officials.
Footage broadcasted by South Korean television networks captured the Jeju Air plane skidding at high speed along the runway with its landing gear seemingly retracted, before overrunning the airstrip and colliding with a concrete wall, resulting in an explosion.
Other local channels showed thick black smoke rising from the flaming wreckage.
Lee Jeong-hyeon, chief of the Muan fire station, stated that investigators are exploring various potential causes of the crash, including the possibility of a bird strike.
This tragic incident marks the nation’s worst aviation disaster. It comes a few days after the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines flight in Kazakhstan, which killed 38 people with 29 survivors.
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