Of the 181 people on board a Jeju Air flight from Bangkok, 179 died after the plane crashed during an emergency landing at Muan International Airport in South Korea on the morning of December 29, the South Korean Fire Agency said, according to Yonhap News.
Rescue teams are still searching the wreckage, where bodies are still inside the fuselage. Two survivors, a passenger and a crew member, were pulled from the tail section and are being treated at a nearby hospital.
The Boeing 737-800 attempted a belly landing at around 9:03 a.m. local time after the plane's landing gear reportedly failed to deploy.
Witnesses reported hearing a loud "boom" before the plane crashed into the airport perimeter wall, breaking into two pieces and bursting into flames.
Local TV station MBC aired footage that appeared to show a bird strike as the plane was descending. An investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.
Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae has officially apologized.
"First of all, we would like to bow our heads in apology to everyone who has trusted Jeju Air. At approximately 9:03 a.m. on December 29, flight 7C2216 from Bangkok to Muan caught fire upon landing at Muan International Airport.
Above all, we would like to express our deepest condolences and apologies to the families of the passengers who lost their lives in this accident. At this time, the cause of the accident is still unknown and we must await the results of the official investigation from the relevant government agencies.
Regardless of the cause, as CEO, I feel deeply responsible for this incident. Jeju Air will do everything possible to promptly handle the accident and support the families of those on board. We will also make every effort to determine the cause of the accident with the cooperation of the government.
Once again, we pray for those who lost their lives in this accident and extend our deepest apologies to their families."
It was South Korea's worst domestic civil aviation disaster and marked the first major casualty incident involving a low-cost airline in the country's history, according to the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper.
Previous major plane crashes on South Korean soil include a 1993 Asiana Airlines crash at Mokpo that killed 68 people and a 2002 Air China crash near Gimhae airport that killed 129 of the 166 passengers.
