A tragic plane crash at South Korea’s Muan International Airport has claimed the lives of at least 124 people out of the 181 passengers and crew onboard.
The passenger jet veered off the runway during landing, collided with a wall, and erupted in flames.
While two crew members have been rescued, authorities report that all other missing individuals are presumed dead.
Rescuers are working tirelessly to recover victims from the wreckage, but the devastating loss has left the nation in shock.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.
The plane, which was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members, was making a second attempt at a crash landing after its landing gear failed to open, local media reports.
Officials say a collision with a bird may have caused the malfunction, reports Yonhap News Agency.
The airport’s control tower warned the plane about the bird strike ahead of the crash, according to South Korea’s transport ministry.
Weather conditions were also being looked into as a suspected cause of the crash.
Most of the passengers aboard the Jeju Air plane were holidaymakers returning from a five-day Christmas package tour to Bangkok, according to South Korean news agency Newsis.
Footage aired by YTN television showed the moment the plane slammed into the wall at the airport and burst into flames, after skidding off the runway without its landing gear deployed.
An airliner with 175 passengers and six crew members, which landed earlier today without its landing gear, skidded off the runway and crashed into a wall at Muan International Airport in South Korea, resulting in a fireball and claiming the lives of over 120 individuals. pic.twitter.com/V8bzCD0QVE
— EDHUB🌍ℹ (@eddie_wrt) December 29, 2024
