SEOUL, South Korea — At least 151 people died when a commercial airplane crashed Sunday at a South Korean airport, officials said.
The Jeju Air flight veered off a runway while landing at Muan International Airport and caught fire after the crash, a spokesperson for the country’s National Fire Agency said.
The flight, which originated from Bangkok, Thailand, was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members, said Joo Jong-wan, director of the Aviation Policy Division at South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. At least two of the passengers were Thai, Joo said.
“We suspect that the accident may have been due to the breakdown in the malfunctioning landing gear,” Lee Jung-hyun, the head of the Muan Fire Department, said at a briefing. Lee said a bird strike and adverse weather also appeared to have played a role but cautioned that the exact cause is still under investigation.
“The pilot declared mayday after issuing the bird strike alert,” Joo said, adding that the aircraft was “completely destroyed” in the crash.
Joo also provided an outline of the sequence of events leading to the disaster.
The plane initially tried to land on the airport’s Runway 1, but the pilot was told to instead land on Runway 19 — in the opposite direction — due to a bird strike warning, Joo said.
A minute later, the pilot sent a mayday signal following the bird strike and tried to land on Runway 19. While passing over the runway, the plane struck a safety system called a localizer — which provides guidance during landing — failed to lower the landing gear and crashed into a wall, Joo said.
Of those killed, at least 45 were female and 35 were male, Lee said. Additional information about the dead was not immediately released.
Two crew members — a man and woman — were rescued and suffered moderate injuries but were conscious, Joo said. Officials originally said the rescued pair were a passenger and a crew member.
The crash happened around 9:03 a.m. local time (7:03 p.m. ET Saturday), Lee said. Firefighters put out the initial blaze at 9:46 a.m. local time, the fire agency spokesperson said.
In a statement, Jeju Air extended its apologies to “everyone affected” by the incident.
“Above all, we offer our heartfelt condolences and apologies to the passengers who tragically lost their lives in the accident and to their bereaved families,” Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae said, assuming “full responsibility for this tragedy” and adding that the airline would provide support for the passengers’ families.
South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, called for immediate and full mobilization efforts “to put out the fire and rescue people,” the Ministry of Interior and Safety in a statement.
The presidential office said in a text briefing that an emergency meeting was being held over the crash.
In a statement, the country’s national defense ministry said it convened an emergency response team and deployed military personnel and equipment to the site to provide support.
Choi later arrived to the site and declared it a “special disaster zone” while expressing condolences to victims and their families and saying his government would “thoroughly investigate” what caused the crash.
“Moving forward, the government will focus on rescuing survivors, managing the recovery of victims, preparing funeral arrangements, providing comfort and support to the bereaved families, and offering clear explanations about the situation,” Park Sang-woo, the minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said.
Joo said more than 1,500 personnel members from multiple agencies were conducting search and recovery efforts. The deceased temporarily being kept at a makeshift mortuary set up at the airport, Joo said.
The airport is about 180 miles south of Seoul.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.