At least 62 people were killed when an airliner veered off the runway and erupted into a fireball as it slammed into a wall at South Korea’s Muan International Airport on Sunday, a national fire official said.
Two crew members have been rescued, the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The crash occurred as Jeju Air flight 7C2216, carrying 175 passengers and six crew on a flight from the Thai capital Bangkok, was landing shortly after 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) at the airport in the south of the country, South Korea’s transport ministry said.
The ministry could not confirm the reports of casualties.
At least 33 bodies have been recovered but that number is not final, another fire official told Reuters.
Two people were found alive and rescue operations were still under way, a Muan fire official said. Yonhap news agency said three people had been rescued.Video shared by local media showed the twin-engine aircraft skidding down the runway with no apparent landing gear before slamming into a wall in an explosion of flame and debris.
The official said two crew members, one man and one woman, had been rescued from the tail of the plane.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra tweeted:
“I want to sent my condolences to the families of those who died and injured.
“I have instructed the foreign ministry to check whether there are Thai nationals on board, what the situation is now and to give assistance immediately. If there are Thai nationals on board, their family will be notified and the foreign ministry should keep them updated.”
Yonhap news agency cited airport authorities as saying the landing gear may have malfunctioned due to a bird strike.
A passenger texted a relative to say a bird was stuck in the wing, agency News1 reported. The person’s final message was, “Should I say my last words?”
A bird strike is among several theories that have not been verified, an official from the transport ministry’s aviation department said, adding that the investigation was ongoing.
The passengers included two Thai nationals and the rest are believed to be South Koreans, according to the transportation ministry.
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