South Korea facing worst domestic civil aviation disaster after Boeing 737-800 with 175 passengers and six crew skidded off runway and hit wall at Muan airportReport: South Korea plane with 181 onboard veers off runway and hits fenceSouth Korea plane crash: what we know so farDozens are feared dead after a plane skidded off the runway while attempting a landing without landing gear at Muan international airport in South Korea on Sunday morningThe exact casualty figures have not yet been tallied, though authorities are provisionally reporting that 28 people are believed to have died, according to news agency Newsis. Fire officials have warned that given the severe damage to the aircraft, the number of casualties could rise.Jeju Air flight 2216 from Bangkok to Muan was carrying 181 people – 175 passengers and six crew – when it came down, skidded along the runway and hit fencing and a wall around the perimeter before catching fire.Rescues are underway, with two people brought out of the wreckage so far. Emergency services are continuing their search operation.The Boeing 737-800 may have suffered a bird strike that caused the landing gear to fail, according news agency Yonhap. The flight had reportedly attempted one landing before being forced to “go-around” when the landing gear failed to lower normally.South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, has ordered “all available equipment and personnel to be mobilised” for the rescue operations at Muan international airport in the country’s south-west and is heading to the crash site, about 300km from the capital, Seoul.The pilot of Jeju Air flight 2216 from Bangkok appeared to be attempting a belly landing after the plane’s landing gear failed to deploy properly, Yonhap is reporting. Continue reading…
Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/dec/29/south-korea-plane-crash-casualties-reported-after-jeju-air-flight-veers-off-runway-at-muan-airport-live-updates
Author : Yohannes Lowe (now); Rebecca Ratcliffe , Petra Stock and Graham Russell (earlier)
Publish date : 2024-12-29 09:09:56
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
South Korea plane crash: all except two are presumed dead on Jeju Air flight carrying 181 people, say authorities – live updates
