"Most Passengers Presumed Dead Except 2 Rescued from Jeju Air Flight"

A Jeju Air passenger plane carrying 181 passengers from Muan International Airport collided with the outer wall of the runway during landing, causing a fire and resulting in a major disaster with most passengers dead. The government is focusing on both on-site recovery and investigating the cause of the accident.

Yonhap News

According to the Fire Agency on the 29th, a report was received that at around 9:03 a.m., Jeju Air flight 7C2216 from Bangkok, Thailand, encountered an accident while attempting to land on the runway at Muan International Airport. The aircraft collided with facilities around the runway, breaking in half and catching fire.

The aircraft involved was a B737-800, carrying a total of 181 people, including 175 passengers and 6 crew members. Of the 175 passengers, 173 were Korean and the remaining 2 were Thai, according to preliminary classification. Except for the tail section, the aircraft was burned to the point where its shape was unrecognizable. The fire authorities completed initial extinguishing around 9:46 a.m. and rescued two injured persons from the rear of the aircraft. Both injured were crew members and their lives are not in danger.

As of 2:29 p.m., the fire authorities had recovered 120 deceased and set up a temporary morgue at the site. Except for the two rescued crew members, most of the passengers are presumed dead. The Jeonnam Fire Headquarters held a briefing for the families of the passengers at the Muan Airport terminal, explaining, "After colliding with the fence, passengers spilled out of the aircraft. The possibility of survival is almost none."

Jeju Air flight 7C2216, which had the accident, departed from Bangkok at around 1:30 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive at Muan Airport at 8:30 a.m. The passenger plane, which failed to land on the runway at the scheduled arrival time, reportedly attempted a "belly landing" due to landing gear failure when the accident occurred.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held a briefing at the government Sejong complex after the accident, stating, "There are several issues such as bird strike and landing gear malfunction, but the cause can only be determined after a thorough investigation." Regarding speculation that the accident may have occurred because the runway at Muan Airport is short, they said, "The runway length is 2,800 meters, and similar-sized aircraft have continuously operated before. It is difficult to see the runway length as the cause of the accident."

On the 29th, wreckage of the aircraft involved in the accident lies on the runway of Muan International Airport in Jeonnam, where a Jeju Air passenger plane carrying 181 passengers collided with the outer wall of the runway during landing, causing a fire that resulted in a major disaster with most passengers dying.

Muan International Airport is mainly used by people from Gwangju and Jeonnam, so the damage is expected to be concentrated in this region. This year, the number of passengers at Muan Airport has increased significantly due to the expansion of Jeju and international routes. In particular, since the 8th, flights have started to destinations including Bangkok, Thailand, Nagasaki, Japan, Taipei, Taiwan, and Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, which are routes of the accident aircraft.

Local residents are anxiously monitoring the accident recovery situation while checking on the safety of family, friends, and acquaintances. Gwangju City and Jeonnam Province have activated the Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to manage accident recovery and support. They are preparing to identify the disaster situation and passenger lists at the accident site, arrange hospital transfers for casualties, and provide support measures for bereaved families.

Choi Sang-mok, Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister as well as Minister of Strategy and Finance, declared Muan a special disaster area due to this accident. In his opening remarks at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting at Muan County Office, he said, "All related agencies will cooperate to make every effort in rescue and damage recovery."