At least 29 dead in S Korea as plane crashes at Muan airport: Reports | News

IT IMPROVES THE STORYADVANCE THE STORY,

The accident occurred when the Jeju Air plane arrived at the 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 AFP news agencies.

The accident happened on Sunday when the Jeju Air plane arrived at Muan International Airport, Yonhap reported.

It was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members and was returning from Thailand.

“So far we have confirmed that 29 people died in the accident,” Lee Hyeon-ji, head of the investigation team at the local fire department, told AFP.

“But the number may increase because of the seriously injured,” he said.

One photo shared by local media showed thick clouds of black smoke coming from the plane. Another showed part of the plane’s tail on fire in what appeared to be a road, with firefighters and emergency vehicles nearby.

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

At least two people have been found alive so far, Yonhap reported, adding that the rescue operation is ongoing.

South Korean acting President Choi Sang-mok at the time ordered “all-out rescue efforts” in Muan.

“All agencies involved… must gather all available resources to save the workers,” he told officials in a statement.

The crash is believed to have been caused by “contact with birds, which resulted in the landing gear not working” as the plane attempted to land at an airport in the southwest of the country, Yonhap reported.