There was a somber mood in South Korea on Sunday morning after a plane carrying 181 people crashed and caught fire, killing at least 179 people. Grief-stricken families and friends of the passengers immediately gathered at Muan International Airport, where the incident took place, in search of their loved ones. The family of one such passenger reportedly said that they had received a message from a person on board the plane minutes before the crash, saying that a bird had stuck to the wing of the flight.
Another message came to his phone, which read, “Should I say my last words?”
Several locals saw flames from the jet’s engine and heard multiple explosions during the incident, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.
An eyewitness said, “I saw the plane landing and thought it was about to land, then I saw a flash of light… then there was a huge bang with smoke in the air and then I heard a series of explosions ” Said while walking about 4.5 kilometers away from the airport.
According to local media reports, another witness had heard “metal scraping” twice about five minutes before the crash. Then, the man saw the plane climb up after failing to land, heard an explosion, and saw black smoke billowing into the sky – all within a matter of seconds.
The Jeju Air aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, was flying from Bangkok to Mueang. After 9 am it attempted to land but crashed into a fence. Scenes showed the twin-engine plane skidding off the runway and then bursting into flames. Within a few seconds, terrible black smoke started rising into the sky.
The only thing that was telling about the crashed flight was its burnt tail.
In the video, it appears that the aircraft attempted a ‘belly landing’ (without fully extending its landing gear).
Authorities said investigators are looking at bird strikes and weather conditions as possible factors that led to the fatal crash.
Read this also Bird hit, gear malfunction, belly landing: chain of events in South Korea crash
More than two hours after the crash, smoke was still coming from the tail section and the search for scattered pieces of the plane was ongoing. Passengers’ clothes, luggage and water bottles – most of which were stained with blood – were scattered across the site.
According to local media, two people have been rescued so far, who are probably crew members.
According to a report by South Korea’s News1 agency, the oldest person on the flight was a 78-year-old man, while the youngest was a three-year-old child.
Reports also revealed that two Thai passengers were also on board the plane.
“I want to express my condolences to the families of the victims and the injured. I have ordered the Foreign Ministry to immediately investigate whether there are any Thai passengers on board the plane and What is the current situation. I have ordered immediate assistance, if there are Thai passengers, please contact their families to inform them of the progress and report the situation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at all times.”
News agency Reuters quoted the Muan fire chief as saying that authorities had switched from rescue to recovery operations and were searching nearby areas for bodies possibly thrown from the plane, due to the strength of the impact.
Jeju Air issued statement
Jeju Air issued a statement ‘sincerely apologizing’ for the accident.
“At Jeju Air we will do everything in our power to respond to this accident. We sincerely apologize for the concern it has caused,” the airline said in a statement on its website.
The airline’s CEO Kim E-bae said during a televised address that although the exact cause of the crash is still unknown, the plane has no record of accidents and there were no early signs of a malfunction. “The airline will cooperate with investigators and will make supporting the bereaved its top priority,” he said.
All domestic and international flights at Muan Airport have reportedly been cancelled.
