Harrowing video footage has captured the moment a Jeju Air flight crashed in a fireball after skidding off a runway in South Korea before smashing into a wall.
The horror crash was captured from Maun International Airport, in southern South Korea. The terrifying clip shows the aircraft without its wheels down on the runway before skidding several hundred yards. The plane can be heard screeching on the tarmac as it hurtled towards a wall at the end of the runway.
Just seconds later, the front of the plane ploughs into wall causing a massive explosion. The devastating crash killed at least 167 people, The Mirror reports.
The clip, shared by South Korean networks, showed the plane suffered extensive damage. South Korea’s national fire agency confirmed that the plane landed without its landing gear and said at least 167 people were killed in the crash. The National Fire Agency said 71 of the bodies pulled from the crash site have been identified as male and 71 as female, with agencies still confirming the genders of nine.
Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 had arrived from Bangkok with an estimated 181 people on board. Rescue teams have pulled two survivors from the wreckage – thought to be flight crew. The plane made the attempted landing at about 9am local time (12am UK time). The disaster is believed to be the worst crash involving a South Korean airliner in more than 30 years.
He added: “Only the tail part retains a little bit of shape, and the rest of (the plane) looks almost impossible to recognise.” Jeju Air has since expressed its “deep apology” over the crash and said it would do its “utmost to manage the aftermath of the accident.”
Mortuary vehicles were seen lining up near the wreckage to take bodies away. A temporary morgue has also been set up. A probe has been launched with air crash investigators looking into weather conditions and bird strikes as a possible cause to the crash.
Jeju Air’s president Kim E-bae deeply bowed in a televised news conference as he apologised to bereaved families. The president said he took “full responsibility” over the incident.
Boeing, who manufacutred the 737-800 aircraft said in a statement posted on X/Twitter: “We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding flight 2216 and stand ready to support them. We extend out deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our
thoughts remain with the passengers and crew.”
Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said in a statement shared to the social media platform: “I would like to express my condolences to the families of the deceased and injured. I have ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to urgently investigate whether there are any Thai passengers on this plane and what the current situation is.
Photos from the scene show police forensic teams searching through the debris as emergency services continue to pull people from the wreckage. People wearing white suits, which appear to be forensic suits, have been seen combing through the grass. The exact cause of the crash is yet to be confirmed, though it’s believed a bird strike was involved.
Transport Ministry officials said their early assessment of communication records show the airport control tower issued a bird strike warning to the plane shortly before it intended to land and gave its pilot permission to land in a different area. The pilot sent out a distress signal shortly before the plane went past the runway and skidded across a buffer zone before hitting the wall, the officials said.
Senior Transport Ministry official Joo Jong-wan said workers have retrieved the flight data recorder from the plane’s black box and are still looking for the cockpit voice recording device. He earlier said that government investigators arrived at the site to investigate the cause of the crash and fire. Emergency officials in Muan said the plane’s landing gear appeared to have malfunctioned.
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