SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – At least 62 people were killed when a passenger plane skidded off the runway at a South Korean airport Sunday, crashing into a concrete fence whose front landing gear apparently failed to deploy, and burst into flames, authorities said. announced. It was one of the worst aviation accidents in the country.
The National Fire and Disaster Management Agency said the fire was mostly extinguished but authorities were still trying to pull people from the Jeju Air plane carrying 181 people at the airport in Muan town, about 290 kilometers (180 miles) south of Seoul. did.
According to the agency, at least 62 people (37 women and 25 men) died in the fire. Emergency personnel rescued two people, one passenger and one crew member. It said 32 fire engines and several helicopters were called in to contain the blaze.
Video of the accident broadcast by YTN TV showed the Jeju Air plane crossing the runway with its landing gear closed and colliding head-on with a concrete wall around the facility’s perimeter. According to the Ministry of Transport, the incident occurred at 9:03 a.m. local time.
Local television stations showed footage of thick black smoke billowing from the plane engulfed in flames.
Muan city emergency authorities said they were investigating the cause of the fire. They said the plane’s landing gear appeared to have malfunctioned. The Ministry of Transport said the plane was returning from Bangkok and two Thai nationals were among the passengers.
Thai Prime Minister Pethunthan Shinawatra expressed his deepest condolences to the families of those affected by the accident in a post on social platform X. Prime Minister Petunturn said he had instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide immediate assistance.
This is one of the worst disasters in Korean aviation history. The last time South Korea suffered a major air disaster was in 1997, when a Korean Air plane crashed in Guam, killing 228 people on board.
The incident comes as South Korea is embroiled in a huge political crisis caused by President Yun Seok-Yeol’s stunning imposition of martial law and subsequent impeachment. Last Friday, South Korean lawmakers impeached Acting President Han Deok-soo, suspended him from office, and replaced him with Vice Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok.
Choi ordered authorities to use all resources to rescue the passengers and crew before heading to Muan. Yun’s chief of staff, Jeong Jin-seok, is scheduled to preside over an emergency meeting of senior presidential officials to discuss the crash later on Sunday, Yun’s office said.
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