South Korea plane crash kills almost all 181 people on board after suspected bird strike
Footage on South Korean television shows the moment the plane carrying 181 people skidded off the runway and crashed, bursting into flames.
Sunday 29 December 2024 16:20, UK
The deadliest plane crash in South Korea's aviation history has killed 179 people.
Two crew members who were at the rear of the plane when it came down were the only survivors.
The youngest victim was a three-year-old boy, according to a list of passengers seen by local media outlets, and five of those killed were under 10.
Live updates: South Korea plane crash
Five members of the same family spanning three generations died.
Officials say birds may have struck an engine before the crash.
The Boeing 737-800 jet - Jeju Air flight 7C2216 from Bangkok to Muan International Airport - was carrying 175 passengers and six crew.
It was making a second attempt at a crash landing after its landing gear failed to open.
Witnesses on the ground reported hearing a "loud explosion" and seeing sparks in the plane's engine before it crashed.
The plane veered off a runway and crashed into a wall, bursting into flames. Aviation experts have pointed to the concrete wall as being critical factor in why so many people died.
The airport's control tower warned the plane about possibility of a bird strike and gave the pilot permission to land in a different area to normal, according to South Korea's transport ministry.
A passenger texted a relative to say a bird was stuck in the wing of the plane, News1 reported.
Their final message was said to have been: "Should I say my last words?"
The pilot sent out a distress signal shortly before the crash, officials said.
Workers have now retrieved the flight data recorder from the plane's black box and are still looking for the cockpit voice recording device, said senior transport ministry official Joo Jong-wan.
The two crew members who were rescued are in hospital and talking. "Smoke came out of one of the engines and then it exploded," Ms Ku, a female flight attendant in her 20s, told Yonhap news agency.
Another survivor, flight attendant Mr Lee, 33, reportedly asked a doctor who was checking him over in hospital: "Why did I end up here?"
He added: "I was wearing my seatbelt before landing, and it seemed like the plane had landed, but I don't remember anything after that."
He suffered a fractured left shoulder and head injuries, according to the Aju Business Daily newspaper.
The King said in a statement that he and the Queen were "profoundly saddened to learn of the horrific air accident", adding: "As the people of the Republic of Korea mourn this disaster, the families and loved ones of all the victims are in our prayers."
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also sent his "deepest condolences" and paid tribute to the work of the emergency services.
Read More:
Everything we know about deadly crash
Airline's bosses face tough questions
Passenger concerns
Just two days ago, a passenger claiming to have travelled on the same plane said it had an engine shut down as people were boarding, according to Sky's correspondent in the region, referencing Yonhap News Agency.
A passenger who boarded the Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 said: "I was on the same plane at the time and the engine shut off several times."
He said he'd set off from Muan International Airport for Bangkok and became worried: "I told the flight attendants and they said there was no problem."
Other passengers, he claimed, also had concerns and the plane was delayed for an hour "due to airport issues".
Weather conditions were also being looked at as a possible cause of the crash.
South Korea's worst aviation disaster will mean tough questions for Jeju Air
This is South Korea鈥檚 worst domestic civil aviation disaster.
The video from the ground sees the plane exploding into a fireball.
A local fire official said the crash had likely been caused by a bird strike and weather conditions.
But others suggested the strike may have been caused by the landing gear failing.
Experts said South Korea鈥檚 aviation industry has a solid track record for safety and this was the first fatal accident Jeju Air had experienced since it was launched.
In a press conference, the chief executive of the company said the plane that crashed did not have previous records of accidents.
He also added there were no early signs of the plane malfunctioning.
He has vowed to cooperate with the government in investigating the cause of the accident.
And he can expect tough questioning - this is a catastrophic crash and the many bereaved families will be looking for answers.
Most of the passengers aboard the Jeju Air plane were holidaymakers returning from a five-day Christmas package tour to Bangkok, according to South Korean news agency Newsis.
Further photos shared by local media showed smoke and flames engulfing much of the plane, while witnesses described a smell of aviation fuel and blood at the crash site.
Search for bodies
Thirty-two fire trucks and several helicopters were deployed to contain the blaze, with about 1,560 firefighters, police officers, soldiers and other officials sent to the site, according to the fire agency.
Lee Jeong-hyeon, chief of the Muan fire station, said rescue teams were searching for bodies scattered by the impact of the crash.
The plane was completely destroyed with only the tail recognisable among the wreckage, he added.
Read more from Sky News:
Benjamin Netanyahu to have prostate removed
Champion boxer dies at 35
Model and actress Dayle Haddon dies
Officials said the fire has been extinguished and South Korea's transport ministry said the incident happened at 9.03am local time on Sunday (shortly after midnight in the UK).
Authorities are now attempting to confirm the identities of victims using the passenger manifest with aircraft seating positions.
Some 88 people have been identified so far, according to the Jeonnam Fire Department.
Among the passengers on board were 173 South Koreans and two Thai people, local media reports.
All domestic and international flights from Muan International Airport have been cancelled.
The last time the country suffered a large-scale air disaster was in 2002, when an Air China aircraft crashed into a hill near the airport in Busan, killing 129 people.