85 Killed as Plane Catches Fire After Skidding Off Runway in South Korea

Jeju Air flight crashes at Muan Airport, killing at least 85 people.
Rescue efforts continue, with only two survivors found so far.
Tragedy prompts concerns over aviation safety and emergency response.

At least 85 people have died after a passenger plane caught fire following a runway accident at South Korea’s Muan International Airport, the National Fire Agency has reported.

The incident occurred at 9:03 a.m. local time (00:03 GMT) on Sunday, as a Jeju Air flight from Bangkok, Thailand, attempted to land in Muan, a city in the country’s southwest. The aircraft was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members.

EDITOR’S PICKS

Eko Hot Blog reports that the National Fire Agency confirmed that the fatalities include 46 women and 39 men, while two crew members have been rescued. The fire engulfing the plane has since been extinguished, authorities said.

South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, citing fire officials, reported that hopes for additional survivors are fading as rescue efforts continue.

A major emergency operation is underway at the airport, located approximately 289 kilometres (179 miles) southwest of Seoul.

“This was a flight returning overnight from Bangkok. There seems to have been some kind of malfunction with the landing gear and images which have been on the media here do appear to show the plane landing on its belly, skidding along the runway, followed then by a huge explosion,” McBride said.

“Eyewitness accounts have talked then about a series of explosions and certainly images that we have been seeing have shown a catastrophic fire,” he said.

The crashed aircraft was a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800, carrying two Thai passengers, with the rest believed to be South Korean nationals.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra expressed condolences to the victims’ families, directing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to verify if Thai citizens were on board and to offer immediate assistance.

Images shared by local media depicted thick black smoke rising from the plane and its tail section engulfed in flames near the runway, as emergency crews worked to control the fire.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency suggested the crash might have been caused by “contact with birds, leading to malfunctioning landing gear” during the plane’s descent. News1 reported that a passenger texted a relative about a bird being stuck in the wing, sending a haunting message: “Should I say my last words?”

An official from South Korea’s Transport Ministry noted that a bird strike is among the theories under investigation, though it remains unconfirmed.