AT LEAST 120 people have been killed after a passenger plane skidded off the runway and crashed into a concrete wall before exploding in a fireball.
The Boeing 737 was coming into land at Muan Airport when the tragedy struck – with horror footage show the doomed jet’s final moments as it hurtled off the tarmac.
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The packed jet – Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 – was carrying at least 181 passengers and was arriving from Bangkok, Thailand.
Firefighters said there were so far only two survivors confirmed as they pick through the burning wreckage.
The cause of the crash is unknown.
But initial theories state a possible bird strike and bad weather may have led to the horrific crash.
Video showed the Jeju Air plane landing on its belly without wheels at Muan International Airport in South Korea.
It skidded off the runway as smoke streamed out from the engines, before crashing into a wall and exploding in flames.
Fire crews said the crash was so violent that the jet was “almost completely destroyed”.
Passengers and crew were flung out out of the plane on impact with the airport barrier.
Fire authorities were dispatched to the scene with plumes of smoke captured in images billowing from the site.
In a statement, firefighters said: “Passengers were ejected from the aircraft after it collided with the barrier, leaving little chance of survival.
“The plane is almost completely destroyed, and identifying the deceased is proving difficult. The process is taking time as we locate and recover the remains,” he was quoted as saying.
“So far, two people rescued — both are flight attendants — 96 dead,” the fire department said, revising an earlier statement that said one of the survivors was a passenger.
A photo showed the tail section of the plane — a Boeing 737-8AS according to Flight Radar — engulfed in flames on what appeared to be the side of the runway, with firefighters and emergency vehicles nearby.
“The cause of the accident is presumed to be a bird strike combined with adverse weather conditions. However, the exact cause will be announced following a joint investigation,” Lee Jeong-hyun, chief of Muan fire station, said during a briefing.
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Lee Hyeon-ji, a response team officer at the local fire department, said rescue authorities had evacuated passengers from the rear section of the jet.
The Muan International Airport is in Muan county, which is about 288 kilometres (179 miles) southwest of Seoul.
The fire agency said it had mobilised 32 fire engines and scores of fire fighters to the scene.
The accident took place at 9.03am local time – just after midnight UK time – on Sunday.
The initial fire was extinguished and a search and rescue operation was “under way at the crash site”, it said in a statement at around 11:00 am local time.
Low-cost carrier Jeju Air apologised and vowed to do all it could to help.
“We at Jeju Air will do everything in our power in response to this accident. We sincerely apologise for causing concern,” the airline said in a statement posted on its social media channels.
Acting President Choi Sang-mok called for the mobilisation of all resources to save the passengers.
“All related agencies… must mobilise all available resources to save the personnel,” he instructed officials in a statement.
Choi convened an emergency meeting with cabinet members to discuss rescue operations and response before heading to Muan, his office said.
“I believe no words of consolation would suffice for the bereaved families who have suffered this tragedy,” said Choi, who took office only on Friday.
“The entire government is working closely together to manage the aftermath of the accident, dedicating all available resources, while making every effort to ensure thorough support for the bereaved families,” he added.
It is the first fatal accident in the history of Jeju Air, one of South Korea’s largest low-cost carriers, which was set up in 2005.
On August 12, 2007, a Bombardier Q400 operated by Jeju Air carrying 74 passengers came off the runway due to strong winds at the southern Busan-Gimhae airport, resulting in a dozen injuries.
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