Again, Passenger Plane Crashes, Kills 179, Two Survive
Barely four days after the tragic xmas day incident in Azerbaijan, another passenger plane crashed in South Korea today (Sunday) reportedly killing about 179 people.
The Jeju Air plane carrying 181 people was traveling from Thailand to South Korea but eventually smashed into a barrier while landing and bursting into flames, leaving all but two feared dead.
The cause of the incident was yet to be officially ascertained but a fire official said a bird strike and adverse weather conditions were likely causes of the crash that flung passengers out of the plane and left it “almost completely destroyed”.
The Jeju Air plane from Bangkok landed on its belly at Muan International Airport, skidding off the runway as smoke streamed out from the engines, before crashing into a wall and exploding in flames.
“Passengers were ejected from the aircraft after it collided with the wall, leaving little chance of survival,” a local fire official told families at a briefing, according to a statement released by the fire brigade.
The plane is almost completely destroyed, and identifying the deceased is proving difficult. The process is taking time as we locate and recover the remains,” he was quoted as saying.
According to the transport ministry, investigators have recovered both black boxes from the wreckage: the cockpit voice recorder at 11:30 and the flight data recorder at 14:24. Eight aircraft accident investigators and nine aviation safety inspectors are conducting initial investigations at the scene.
“More than 1,500 personnel have been mobilised for the rescue and recovery operation, including 490 firefighters, 455 police officers, and 340 military personnel.
The airport’s runway will remain closed until 05:00 on 1 January 2025, though this timeframe may be adjusted.
“A temporary morgue has been set up at the airport, with authorities working with families to arrange transfers of identified victims to external facilities,” it stated.
