By Breitbart News Network | Created at 2024-12-29 03:33:23 | Updated at 2024-12-30 20:21:15
1 day ago
A passenger plane operated by South Korea’s Jeju Air skidded off the runway at Muan International Airport at shortly after 9:00 a.m. local time on Sunday morning, causing a fiery crash that killed at least 28 of its 181 passengers and crew.
Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 was landing at the airport in Muan, South Korea, about 180 miles southwest of Seoul after a flight from Bangkok, Thailand. According to South Korea’s Yonhap News, two of the passengers were Thai nationals, and the rest were South Koreans.
Yonhap reported the plane, a Boeing 737-800, experienced a landing gear malfunction and was attempting a belly landing without gear. The landing gear failure may have been caused by a bird strike.
The plane was evidently moving too fast when it skidded onto the runway, causing it to veer off to one side and slam into a fence and other airport structures. A crew of over 80 firefighters worked for 43 minutes to bring the fire under control.
All of the casualties confirmed so far have come from the tail section of the plane, which separated from the fuselage during the crash. Rescue workers warned the death toll could climb higher, given the damage to the plane.
Three rescues from the crash have been confirmed so far, including two crew members and one passenger. Acting president Choi Sang-mok ordered “all-out efforts” to rescue more passengers and said he would travel to Muan as quickly as possible.
The president of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol, was impeached on December 14 after attempting to impose martial law earlier in the month. His first replacement, acting president Han Duck-soo, was himself impeached on Friday because opposition lawmakers accused him of stonewalling the process of formally removing Yoon from office.
