179 killed, two survive in Jeju Air crash in Muan

Dec 30, 2024, 10:26 am

		0
Firefighting authorities conduct search operations at the plane crash site at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Jeolla Province, on Dec. 29, 2024./ Photographed by Lee Byung-hwa (photolbh@)

AsiaToday reporter Park Joo-yeon

A Jeju Air plane carrying 175 passengers and six crew members crash-landed at Muan International Airport in South Korea at around 9:03 a.m. Sunday. A total of 179 aboard flight 7C 2216 are confirmed dead while only two flight attendants were rescued from the separated tail section of the plane.

The plane heading to Muan Airport attempted to land without lowering its landing gear deployed. However, it failed to slow down and skidded along the ground, crashing into a concrete wall before bursting into flames. Many victims were thrown out of the broken fuselage, and the plane was engulfed in flames, killing most of the passengers. The two rescued were each transported to a different Seoul hospital after receiving treatment at hospitals near the airport.

The crash occurred just one minute after the control tower had issued a bird strike warning. At around 8:58 a.m., the engine caught fire and the pilots declared mayday. The control tower allowed the plane to land from the opposite direction the plane had come in, and the plane attempted to land at around 9 a.m. The fire department estimates that six minutes after the warning, the plane failed to slow down and collided with a fence wall, sparking a fire.

A temporary morgue has been set up inside the Muan airport to lay the bodies of the victims. Emergency relief sets for the bereaved families were delivered immediately. South Jeolla Province has designated 360 government officials dedicated for the bereaved families to provide support.

Acting President Choi Sang-mok declared the Muan county as a special disaster zone as he visited the crash site to instruct officials to make all-out efforts for search operations.

“We deeply express our condolences to the victims of the accident. We pray for the souls of the victims and express our sincere condolences to the bereaved families,” Choi said. “All related organizations will make all-out efforts to rescue the victims and the recover the damage. We will thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident and come up with measures to prevent similar accidents from happening again.”

#Jeju Air