Tragic Plane Crash in South Korea Leaves 176 Dead

Seoul, Dec 29 (NationPress) A passenger aircraft carrying 181 individuals belly-landed and erupted in flames at an airport located in South Korea's southwestern region of Muan on Sunday, resulting in 176 fatalities and three others remaining unaccounted for, according to officials. Fortunately, two crew members managed to escape.

This event marks another one of the most devastating aviation disasters in the nation's history and is the most severe incident involving a domestic airline since the catastrophic 1997 Korean Air crash in Guam, which claimed 228 lives.

The incident took place around 9 a.m. when the Jeju Aeroplane, which was transporting 175 passengers and six crew members, veered off course while attempting to land at Muan International Airport in Muan County, located approximately 288 kilometers southwest of Seoul, as reported by Yonhap news agency.

The aircraft skidded along the surface without its landing gear extended, colliding with a concrete barrier before erupting into flames with a thunderous explosion.

Authorities confirmed 176 deaths resulting from the accident, categorizing the remaining three individuals as missing.

Search efforts will persist overnight to locate the three individuals who are still unaccounted for. Earlier reports indicated that 22 victims had already been identified.

According to a firefighting agency representative, "After the plane struck the wall, passengers were ejected from the aircraft. The possibility of survival is extremely slim."

"The aircraft has been nearly obliterated, making it challenging to identify the deceased," the representative added. "We are in the process of recovering the remains, which will require time."

The Boeing 737-800 aircraft had departed from Bangkok at 1:30 a.m. and was intended to arrive in Muan at approximately 8:30 a.m.

Most passengers were Koreans, with the exception of two Thai nationals.

Among the passengers onboard, 82 were men, and 93 were women, with ages ranging from as young as three to 78 years old. Many of the individuals were in their 40s, 50s, and 60s.

A temporary morgue has been established within Muan airport to accommodate the remains of the victims.

The two crew members who survived the tragedy were rescued shortly after the incident and received treatment at separate hospitals in Mokpo before being transferred to Seoul. Their injuries were not life-threatening.

Authorities suspect that a failure of the landing gear, potentially caused by a bird strike, may have led to the disaster. An on-site investigation has commenced to ascertain the precise cause.

The Ministry of Land revealed that an airport control tower had issued a warning about a bird strike just six minutes prior to the crash.

One minute afterward, the pilot of the Jeju Aeroplane issued a "Mayday" distress signal, an international call for help from a plane in critical circumstances.

The South Jeolla authorities escalated emergency alerts to the highest levels and deployed all available rescue and police personnel to the scene of the accident.

Acting President Choi Sang-mok declared Muan County a special disaster area during his visit to the crash site, instructing officials to exert every effort in search operations.

Choi expressed profound condolences to the grieving families and pledged to provide them with all possible government support.

The presidential office convened an emergency meeting of senior secretaries earlier in the day to establish a continuous emergency response system for prompt action regarding the search and other operations.

During the meeting, led by Chief of Staff Chung Jin-suk, officials discussed strategies for interagency coordination concerning the investigation into the disaster and the provision of medical and other assistance.

Acting National Police Agency Commissioner-General Lee Ho-young also directed officials to mobilize all available resources and collaborate with firefighting and related agencies to aid in the rescue operations.

Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae expressed his apologies and extended condolences to the families of those who lost their lives, vowing to offer all necessary support to the victims' families.

"Regardless of the cause, I accept full responsibility as the CEO," Kim stated.