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At the least 80 folks have been killed on Sunday after a South Korean passenger jet crashed and burst into flame on touchdown, in accordance with native authorities, in one of many nation’s worst-ever aviation disasters.
The Jeju Air flight was coming back from Bangkok with 181 folks on board when it did not deploy its touchdown gear at Muan Worldwide Airport within the south of the nation.
Of the 175 passengers on board, 173 have been South Korean, whereas the remaining two have been Thai nationals, in accordance with the transportation ministry. There have been an additional six crew members on board.
Native tv information footage confirmed the plane skidding down the runway earlier than it struck a wall and was engulfed in flames. The airplane’s touchdown gear appeared to have malfunctioned, in accordance with the nation’s emergency workplace.
The hearth has been contained and two folks have been rescued from the wreckage, in accordance with state-run Yonhap Information. Greater than 30 vans and a number of other helicopters have been deployed to the catastrophe.
South Korea’s performing president Choi Sang-mok visited the scene on Sunday and ordered an all-out rescue effort, beseeching emergency staff to “do your utmost for rescue operations, mobilising all out there assets”.
Authorities are nonetheless working to find out the precise explanation for the crash, an airline spokesperson stated.
TV footage confirmed thick smoke billowing from the wreckage of the plane, a twin-engined Boeing 737-800 jet, after the crash.
Fireplace officers informed Yonhap that a lot of the passengers have been feared useless. In a televised briefing, officers pointed to the airplane hitting birds and unhealthy climate as attainable causes of the accident.
The catastrophe was the second deadly airplane accident in latest days. An Azerbaijan Airways passenger flight crash-landed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, after being diverted over the Caspian Sea from Grozny, within the southern Russian republic of Chechnya.
US and Ukrainian officers have blamed Russian anti-aircraft hearth for the accident, during which 38 of the 67 folks on board have been killed. Russian authorities stated heavy fog and a flock of birds induced the diversion from Grozny, however have additionally stated that it occurred whereas Ukrainian fight drones have been attacking close by cities.
Russian Vladimir Putin apologised to Azerbaijan on Saturday for the “tragic incident”, however didn’t touch upon the allegations of Russian interference.
