A Jeju Air plane carrying 181 people from Bangkok to South Korea crashed on arrival Sunday, colliding with a barrier and bursting into flames, with only two survivors rescued so far and 96 confirmed dead.
According to fire officials, a collision with birds and adverse weather conditions were cited by the authorities as likely causes of the crash that flung passengers out of the plane and left it “almost completely destroyed.
Video showed the Jeju Air plane landing on its belly without wheels at Muan International Airport, skidding off the runway as smoke streamed out from the engines, before crashing into a wall and exploding in flames.
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According to a local fire official, passengers were ejected from the aircraft after it collided with the barrier, leaving little chance of survival.
He said the plane is almost completely destroyed, and identifying the deceased is proving difficult. He added that so far, two people rescued — both are flight attendants.
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.
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.