At least 29 people killed in South Korea after plane crashes at Muan Airport: Report | news

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The accident occurred while the Jeju Air plane was landing at Muan International Airport in South Korea.

A passenger plane veered off the runway and crashed at an airport in the South Korean city of Muan, killing at least 29 people, according to Yonhap and Agence France-Presse.

Yonhap reported that the accident occurred on Sunday while the Jeju Air plane was landing at Muan International Airport.

The plane was carrying 175 passengers and six flight attendants and was on its way back from Thailand.

“So far, we have confirmed that 29 people have been killed in the accident,” Lee Hyun-ji, a response team officer at the local fire department, told AFP.

She added: “But the toll may rise because the injured are seriously injured.”

One of the photos published by local media showed thick clouds of black smoke emerging from the plane. Another clip showed the back of the plane engulfed in flames on what appeared to be the side of the runway, with firefighters and emergency vehicles nearby.

Lee said that rescue authorities were evacuating passengers from the back of the plane.

Yonhap reported that at least two people have been found alive so far, adding that the rescue mission is continuing.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok ordered “all efforts to be made for rescue operations” in Muan.

“All relevant agencies must… mobilize all available resources to rescue the employees,” he told officials in a statement.

Yonhap reported that the accident is believed to have been caused by “bird contact, which led to a malfunction in the landing gear” as the plane attempted to land at the airport located in the southwest of the country.