On December 29, a Jeju Air plane flying from Bangkok to South Korea crashed while landing at Muan Airport, reports Adyrna National Portal, citing Yonhap News Agency.
According to reports, the plane carried at least 175 people. It veered off the runway and collided with a barrier at high speed. Preliminary data indicates that most passengers died, with only two survivors. Reuters reports that the survivors are crew members, but other media sources state that one of the survivors is a passenger.
“The plane, carrying approximately 175 passengers and six crew members, was returning from Bangkok,” the agency reports.
The crashed Jeju Air Boeing 737 carried 173 South Korean nationals and two Thai nationals.
A surviving 33-year-old flight attendant is hospitalized and reportedly out of danger, though deeply traumatized.
Rescue operations are currently underway at the airport. Eighty firefighting units have been deployed to extinguish the blaze. Authorities are investigating the causes of the accident. According to Yonhap, the plane collided with birds during the flight, causing the landing gear to malfunction.
Choi Sang Mok, acting president of South Korea following the suspension of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo amid a political crisis, has instructed government agencies to carry out rescue efforts as efficiently as possible.
All domestic and international flights at Muan Airport, located 288 kilometers from Seoul, have been suspended.
This is the first air crash in Jeju Air’s 20-year history. The company has been operating the Boeing 737-800 since 2017, and the plane was previously used by Ryanair.
For reference, on December 25, an AZAL Embraer 190 plane flying from Baku to Grozny crashed 3 kilometers from Aktau Airport. The plane carried 67 people, including 62 passengers and five crew members. Thirty-eight people died, and 29 were hospitalized. Two crew members survived the crash.
