At least 29 people have been killed in a plane crash in South Korea’s southwestern Muan airport, authorities told reporters.
“We have so far confirmed 29 deaths from the crash … but the tally could rise due to the critically injured,” said Lee Hyeon-ji, a local fire department official, revising a previous casualty figure provided by authorities.
The Jeju Air plane, which was carrying 175 passengers and six flight attendants, was flying back from Thailand and the accident took place while it was landing, the report said.
Yonhap news agency reported the Jeju Air flight plane veered off the runway and collided with a fence. It said the plane was returning from Bangkok.
Video shared by local media showed the twin-engined aircraft skidding down the runway with no apparent landing gear before slamming into a wall in an explosion of flame and debris. Other photos showed smoke and fire engulfing parts of the plane.
Two people were found alive while the rescue mission was continuing, according to Yonhap.
Authorities were working to rescue people in the tail section, an airport official told reporters.
Acting South Korean President Choi Sung-mok, who was named interim leader of the country on Friday after the previous acting president was impeached amid an ongoing political crisis, ordered all-out rescue efforts, his office said.
The president’s chief of staff said Choi was holding an emergency meeting about the crash.
A Jeju Air spokesperson said the airline was checking reports of the accident.
