Dozens killed when passenger jet crashes whereas touchdown at South Korean airport

A passenger airplane burst into flames Sunday morning after it skid off a runway at a South Korean airport and slammed right into a concrete fence when its entrance touchdown gear apparently did not deploy, killing a minimum of 85 folks, officers stated, in one of many nation’s worst aviation disasters.  

The Nationwide Fireplace Company stated the fireplace was nearly put out however officers have been nonetheless making an attempt to tug folks from the Jeju Air passenger airplane carrying 181 folks on the airport within the city of Muan, about 180 miles south of Seoul.

Not less than 85 folks on board have been discovered useless on account of the incident, the company stated. Emergency employees pulled out two folks — one passenger and one crew member. It stated it deployed 32 fireplace vehicles and a number of other helicopters to comprise the fireplace.  

South Korean information company Yonhap reported that there have been believed to be 173 South Korean passengers aboard the flight and two Thai nationals. There have been additionally six crew members aboard the flight, Reuters reported. 

Footage of the crash aired by YTN tv confirmed the Jeju Air airplane skidding throughout the airstrip, apparently with its touchdown gear nonetheless closed, and colliding head-on with a concrete wall on the outskirts of the ability. The transport ministry stated the incident occurred at 9:03 a.m. native time. Native TV stations aired footage displaying thick pillows of black smoke billowing from the airplane engulfed with flame.

Emergency officers in Muan stated they have been inspecting the reason for the fireplace. They stated the airplane’s touchdown gear appeared to have malfunctioned. The transport ministry stated the airplane was coming back from Bangkok.

Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, expressed deep condolences to the households of these affected by the accident by means of a social media put up. Paetongtarn stated she had ordered the Ministry of Overseas Affairs to offer help instantly.    

In accordance with Reuters, performing South Korean President Choi Sang-mok has ordered an all-out rescue response, his workplace stated. Choi solely turned performing president Friday, changing the earlier performing president, Han Duck-soo, following Han’s impeachment. All of it comes within the wake of the federal government disaster attributable to the Dec. 3 martial legislation declaration from former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was later impeached as nicely. 

This is likely one of the deadliest disasters in South Korea’s aviation historical past. The final time South Korea suffered a large-scale air catastrophe was in 1997, when an Korean Airline airplane crashed in Guam, killing 228 folks on board.  

This comes after 38 folks have been killed and 29 extra injured when an Azerbaijan Airways airplane certain from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to the Russian metropolis of Grozny crashed in Aktau, Kazakhstan on Christmas Day. On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an apology for the crash, and the Kremlin stated in an announcement that air protection methods have been firing close to Grozny airport because the airliner “repeatedly” tried to land there. It didn’t, although, explicitly say one in all these hit the airplane.

A U.S. official advised CBS Information there have been early indications a Russian anti-aircraft system might have struck the airplane in a area the place Ukrainian and Russian forces have traded drone and rocket fireplace for months.