Fire and smoke rise from the tail section of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft after the plane crashed and burst into flames at Muan International Airport.
Jeju Air flight 7C2216, arriving from the Thai capital Bangkok with 181 people on board, was attempting to land shortly after 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) at the airport in the south of the country, South Korea’s transport ministry said.
The ministry also confirmed the casualties in the deadliest air accident involving a South Korean airline in nearly three decades.
Two crew members, a man and a woman, were rescued from the tail section of the burning plane, Muan fire chief Lee Jung-hyun told a briefing. The fire was extinguished by 1 p.m., Lee said.
“Only the tail part retains a little bit of shape, and the rest of (the plane) looks almost impossible to recognise,” he said.
