At least 125 people died on Sunday when a plane landed without wheels, skidded off the runway and burst into flames after hitting a wall at Muan International Airport in South Korea.
South Korean authorities said they believe 179 people died in a plane crash at Musan International Airport, local media reported.
“Of the 181 passengers, most are presumed dead, except for two who were rescued,” Jeolla Fire Department officials said in a briefing to the passengers’ families at the airport, according to Yonhap news agency.
The authorities have confirmed that so far it has been officially established that 125 people died in the accident, while the search for the other passengers is underway during the rescue operation.
Jeju Air flight 7C2216, which was coming from the Thai capital of Bangkok with 181 passengers and crew, attempted to land at around 9am local time at the airport in the south of the country.
It is the worst plane crash of a South Korean airline in the last 30 years.
Video footage shows the twin-engine Boeing 737-800 skidding down the runway without landing gear, hitting a wall and exploding in a huge fireball. Other photos show smoke and fire around parts of the craft, it said Index.hr.
Two crew members, a man and a woman, were rescued from the burning tail of the plane, fire chief Lee Jung-hyun told a news conference.
