At least 124 people are dead after a passenger jet crashed upon landing at an airport in South Korea on Sunday morning, authorities said.
Jeju Air Flight 2216 was landing at Muan International Airport around 9 a.m. local time when the plane went off the runway and crashed into a wall.
The updated death toll was provided by the National Fire Agency. The official death toll has steadily climbed in the hours after the crash. There were a total of 175 passengers and six crew members aboard the Boeing 737 aircraft, which had taken off from Bangkok, according to the Korean Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport.
Firefighters and rescue team members work at the Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (Maeng Dae-hwan/Newsis via AP)
Maeng Dae-hwan/AP
A plume of smoke at the scene of the Jeju Air crash in Muan, South Korea.
Courtesy Yoo Jung-Pil
Video from the scene at the time of the crash appears to show the landing gear was up when the plane touched down, indicating some sort of malfunction, and it also appears the plane landed at a high speed.
The transport ministry was on the scene investigating the cause of the crash.
By Sunday afternoon, South Korean officials said they had confirmed that at least 124 people were dead, according to the National Fire Agency. Fifty-four of the dead were men and 57 were women, the agency said, adding that the remains of 13 were still unidentified.
A man and a woman were rescued from the wreckage and were taken to the hospital, according to the transport ministry. Both were crew members, the fire agency said. Their conditions were not released.
Initially, there were conflicting reports on the number of people rescued.
People watch the news regarding the plane crash at Seoul station on December 29, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea. A plane carrying 181 people, Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, crashed at Muan International Airport in South Korea after skidding off the runway and colliding with a wall, resulting in an explosion. Early reports said that at least 23 people had died. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
Chung Sung-jun/Getty Images
Videos taken at the scene showed flames and a thick column of dark smoke at the crash site.
As of 1 p.m. local time, authorities said the plane had completely burned. A temporary morgue was being set up at the airport.
Jeju Air is a South Korean low-cost carrier that operates an all Boeing fleet, with 42 planes and nearly 3,000 staff.
Firefighters and rescue team members work near the wreckage of a passenger plane at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024.
Ahn Young-joon/AP
“We deeply apologize to all those affected by the incident at Muan Airport,” Jeju Air said in a notice posted in English on its website. “We will make every effort to resolve the situation. We sincerely regret the distress caused.”
The website’s landing page replaced Jeju Air’s logotype, which is usually orange, with an all-black version.
Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae, fourth from left, and other executive members bow in apology ahead of a briefing in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024 after its passenger plane burst into flames at an airport in the town of Muan.
AP
Boeing was in contact with Jeju Air regarding the crash and was “standing ready to support them,” a Boeing spokesperson told ABC News.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew,” the spokesperson said.
Muan, a city of roughly 90,000 people, is located in southwest South Korea.
ABC News’ Jessica Gorman and Victoria Beaule contributed to this report.