A Jeju Air plane carrying 181 passengers from Bangkok to South Korea crashed upon arrival on Sunday, striking a barrier and erupting into flames. Only two survivors have been rescued so far, with 96 fatalities confirmed.
Authorities attributed the crash to bird strikes and severe weather, which reportedly ejected passengers from the aircraft and left it “almost completely destroyed,” according to fire officials.
Footage showed the plane landing belly-first without landing gear at Muan International Airport, skidding off the runway with smoke billowing from its engines before colliding with a wall and bursting into flames.
“Passengers were ejected from the aircraft after it collided with the barrier, leaving little chance of survival,” a local fire official told families at a briefing, according to a statement released by the fire brigade.
“The plane is almost completely destroyed, and identifying the deceased is proving difficult. The process is taking time as we locate and recover the remains,” he was quoted as saying.
“So far, two people rescued — both are flight attendants — 96 dead,” the fire department said, revising an earlier statement that said one of the survivors was a passenger.
A photo showed the tail section of the plane — a Boeing 737-8AS according to Flight Radar — engulfed in flames on what appeared to be the side of the runway, with firefighters and emergency vehicles nearby.
“The cause of the accident is presumed to be a bird strike combined with adverse weather conditions. However, the exact cause will be announced following a joint investigation,” Lee Jeong-hyun, chief of Muan fire station, said during a briefing.
A response team officer at the local fire department, Lee Hyeon-ji said rescue authorities had evacuated passengers from the rear section of the jet.
The Muan International Airport is in Muan county, which is about 288 kilometres (179 miles) southwest of Seoul.
The fire agency said it had mobilised 32 fire engines and scores of fire fighters to the scene.
The accident took place at 9:03 am (0003 GMT) on Sunday during the landing of Jeju Air Flight 2216, the Ministry of Land said.
“A total of 175 passengers — including two Thai nationals — and six crew members were onboard,” it said.
The initial fire was extinguished and a search and rescue operation was “under way at the crash site”, it said in a statement at around 11:00 am local time.
Low-cost carrier Jeju Air apologised and vowed to do all it could to help.
“We at Jeju Air will do everything in our power in response to this accident. We sincerely apologise for causing concern,” the airline said in a statement posted on its social media channels.
……..
Note : To submit Press Releases, Statements, and Advert Inquiries for publication on Waffi blog (website) or Television 📺, please use the following contact details: You can send an email to info@waffitv.com or reach us via Whatsapp at 07068286500
