A passenger jet with 181 on board veered off the runway and hit a wall at Musan International Airport in South Korea’s Muan County on Sunday (December 29). As per Yonhap News Agency, everyone but two persons on board are feared to be dead. The Jeju Air plane crashed at 9:07 am (local time). Muan County is about 288 kilometres southwest of South Korea’s capital Seoul.
There were 175 passengers and six crew members in the plane which was returning from Bangkok. Almost all the passengers on board were South Korean. Two were Thai.
Videos shown in local media as well as those being shared on social media platforms showed the plane did not have its landing gear down while landing. The landing gear in the set of wheel under the aircraft which enable the plane to land. It is absolutely essential that the landing gear is deployed when the plane is landing.
Firefighting officials have been quoted in media reports saying that all of the passengers, other than two who have survived, are presumed dead. The survivours have been taken to hospital in Mokpo.
The province where the incident occurred has raised emergency alert to the highest level.
South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok expressed deep shock and offered condolences to the bereaved families. He visited the crash site around noon as per local time. His office has announce an emergency meeting of senior officials
Acting National Police Agency Commissioner-General Lee Ho-young has ordered that all available resources be mobilize to bring the situation under control, Yonhap reported.
