China Also Wept... "179 Dead in Korean Passenger Plane Fire" News Hits 800 Million Views with a Wave of Mourning

"Many Lives Lost, Heartbreaking"

As the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster occurred at Muan International Airport in Jeollanam-do, a wave of mourning is continuing in China as the news is being transmitted in real time.

On the 30th, keywords related to the Jeju Air disaster dominated the major real-time search terms on Baidu, China's largest search portal, and the social networking service (SNS) Weibo. From the tragic news that all 179 passengers except for 2 flight attendants died, to the latest news that the Jeju Air passenger plane returned due to landing gear problems again just one day later, all news related to the disaster is recording high views online.

China Weibo

In particular, on Weibo, posts related to the hashtag '#Korea passenger plane fire kills 179' have been viewed 810 million times, and it ranked first in search terms for 12 hours. Some Chinese netizens added the hashtag '#Small mistakes accumulate into big mistakes (小錯疊加成大錯)' showing interest in identifying the cause of this disaster.

There were also Chinese netizens who shared heartbreaking stories of those who were on board the disaster passenger plane and expressed their condolences. Stories such as a family who went on a trip to celebrate an 80th birthday but met tragedy, and a mother who went on a trip to celebrate cancer recovery but never returned to her family, moved Chinese netizens to respond with comments like, "Although we are not compatriots, my heart aches at the fact that so many lives were lost in the disaster," and "Praying for the eternal rest of the victims, and urging the living to cherish every moment."

Wreckage of the aircraft that collided and exploded during landing at Muan International Airport, Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do on the afternoon of the 29th. Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, Jeju Air flight 7C2216, which departed from Bangkok, Thailand and was heading to Muan Airport, attempted to land on the runway at Muan Airport around 9:03 a.m. on the 29th with the landing gear (airplane wheels) not deployed, collided with airport facilities, and most of the aircraft was engulfed in flames. As a result of this accident, all 175 passengers and 2 pilots and 2 cabin crew members, totaling 179 people, died at the scene.

In response, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolence to Korea. President Xi said, "I was shocked to hear about the serious casualties caused by the Jeju Air passenger plane accident returning to the country," and "On behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese people, I express my deepest condolences to the victims and sincere sympathy to the families of the victims, and I hope the injured recover their health quickly."