DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY, The crash occurred as the Jeju Air plane was landing at Muan International Airport in South Korea.A passenger plane has veered off the runway and crashed at an airport in the South Korean city of Muan, killing at least 29 people, according to the Yonhap and AFP news agencies.
The accident took place on Sunday as the Jeju Air plane was landing at Muan International Airport, Yonhap reported.
It was carrying 175 passengers and six flight attendants and was flying back from Thailand.
“We have so far confirmed 29 deaths from the crash,” Lee Hyeon-ji, a response team officer at the local fire department, told AFP. “But the tally could rise due to the critically injured,” she said.
Photos shared by local media showed thick clouds of black smoke coming out of the plane.
South Korea’s Acting President Choi Sang-mok has ordered “all-out-efforts for rescue operations” at Muan, according to Yonhap.
“All related agencies… must mobilise all available resources to save the personnel,” he instructed officials in a statement.
The agency reported that two people have been found alive so far and that the rescue mission is continuing. Advertisement
It said the crash is believed to have been caused by “contact with birds, resulting in malfunctioning landing gear” as the plane attempted to land at the airport in the country’s southwest.
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