SEOUL, South Korea –
A passenger plane burst into flames Sunday after it skidded off the runway at a South Korean airport and crashed into a concrete fence when its front landing gear apparently failed to deploy, killing at least 47 people. officials said.
The National Fire Agency said the fire was almost out, but officials were still trying to get people off the Jeju Air passenger plane carrying 181 people at the airport in the southern city of Muan.
At least 47 people died in the fire, the agency said. Rescuers pulled out two people: a passenger and a crew member. It said it deployed 32 fire trucks and several helicopters to contain the fire.
Footage of the accident broadcast on YTN television showed the Jeju Air plane skidding across the runway, apparently with the landing gear still closed, and colliding head-on with a concrete wall outside the facility. The Ministry of Transportation said the incident occurred at 9:03 a.m. local time.
Fire trucks work to extinguish a fire at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (Maeng Dae-hwan/Newsis via AP)
Emergency officials in Muan said they were examining the cause of the fire. They said the plane’s landing gear appeared to have failed. The Transport Ministry said the plane was returning from Bangkok and its passengers included two Thai nationals.
Local television stations broadcast images showing thick plumes of black smoke billowing from the plane engulfed in flames.
The incident came as South Korea is embroiled in a massive political crisis sparked by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s stunning imposition of martial law and subsequent impeachment. Last Friday, South Korean lawmakers impeached acting President Han Duck-soo and suspended his duties, prompting Vice Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok to take over.
Choi ordered officials to use all available resources to rescue the passengers and crew, according to the Yonhap news agency. Yoon’s office said his chief secretary, Chung Jin-suk, will chair an emergency meeting among senior presidential staff later on Sunday to discuss the accident.
