South Korea was reeling from the loss of 179 people after a Jeju Air plane crash-landed and burst into flames, with a team of US investigators joining local authorities to probe possible causes.
The Boeing 737-800 was carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea when it crashed on arrival earlier today, killing everyone aboard - save two flight attendants pulled from the twisted wreckage of the worst aviation disaster on South Korean soil.
Officials have cited a bird strike as a likely cause of the crash, which flung passengers from the plane and left it "almost completely destroyed", according to fire officials.
Content warning: Distressing imagery
Video showed Jeju Air Flight 2216 landing on its belly at Muan International Airport, skidding off the runway as smoke streamed out from the engines, before crashing into a wall and exploding in flames.
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that it would lead a team of investigators, including from Boeing and the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), to join officials in South Korea in probing what caused the crash. The country has a solid air safety record.
Both black boxes - the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder - have been found.
The deadliest air accident on South Korean soil was also the worst involving a South Korean airline in nearly three decades, according to the transport ministry.
The twin-engine Boeing 737-800 was seen in local media video skidding down the runway with no visible landing gear before crashing into the wall in an explosion of flames and debris.
"Passengers were ejected from the aircraft after it collided with the barrier, leaving little chance of survival," a local fire official told families at a briefing, according to a statement released by the fire brigade.
"The plane is almost completely destroyed, and identifying the deceased is proving difficult. The process is taking time as we locate and recover the remains," he was quoted as saying.
A photo showed the tail section of the plane - a Boeing 737-8AS according to Flight Radar - engulfed in flames on what appeared to be the side of the runway, with firefighters and emergency vehicles nearby.
The Muan International Airport is in Muan county, which is about 288km southwest of Seoul.
The fire agency said it had mobilised 32 fire engines and scores of fire fighters to the scene.
The Ministry of Land said that a "total of 175 passengers - including two Thai nationals - and six crew members were onboard."
The initial fire was extinguished and a search and rescue operation was "under way at the crash site", it said in a statement.
The two crew members, a man and a woman, were rescued from the tail section of the burning plane, Muan fire chief Lee Jung-hyun told a briefing. They were being treated at hospitals with medium to severe injuries, said the head of the local public health centre.
Investigators are examining bird strikes and weather conditions as possible factors, Mr Lee said. Yonhap news agency cited airport authorities as saying a bird strike may have caused the landing gear to malfunction.
Authorities were searching nearby areas for bodies possibly thrown from the plane, Mr Lee said.
Experts said the bird strike report and the way the aircraft attempted to land raised more questions than answers.
"A bird strike is not unusual, problems with an undercarriage are not unusual," said Airline News editor Geoffrey Thomas. "Bird strikes happen far more often, but typically they don't cause the loss of an airplane by themselves."
Inside the airport terminal late Sunday, tearful family members gathered to wait for news.
An official called out the names of 65 victims who have been identified, with each name triggering fresh cries of grief.
One relative stood at a microphone to ask for more information from authorities. "My older brother died and I don't know what's going on," he said. "I don’t know."
Mortuary vehicles lined up outside to take bodies away, and authorities said a temporary morgue had been established.
At the crash site workers in protective suits and masks combed the area while soldiers searched through bushes.
Authorities had worked to rescue people in the tail section, an airport official told Reuters shortly after the crash.
The crash is the worst for any South Korean airline since a 1997 Korean Air crash in Guam that killed more than 200 people, according to transportation ministry data. The previous worst on South Korean soil was an Air China crash that killed 129 people in 2002.
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The control tower issued a bird strike warning and shortly afterward the pilots declared mayday and then pilots attempted to land, a transport ministry official said.
A passenger texted a relative to say a bird was stuck in the wing, the News1 agency reported. The person's final message was, "Should I say my last words?"
The passengers included two Thai nationals and the rest are believed to be South Koreans, according to the transportation ministry.
The Irish Embassy in South Korea said there were no Irish national on board the flight.
The Embassy is aware of a tragic plane crash today at Muan Airport. Details are emerging, but we can confirm that there were no Irish nationals on board. Those concerned about loved ones can call Jeju Air helpline 0808981500/ +8215998629. May those who perished rest in peace
— Irish Embassy Korea (@IrishEmbKorea) December 29, 2024
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin expressed his "deepest condolences" to the relatives of those who died.
In a post on X, he said his thoughts are with the people of South Korea.
My thoughts are with the people of South Korea following the horrific plane crash earlier today.
— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) December 29, 2024
Deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives, and the emergency services working in the most difficult of circumstances. https://t.co/9QWnVRIICi
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said she was "heartbroken to see images of the plane crash in Muan".
"As your partner, Europe stands with you in this time of grief," the European Commission president said.
Pope Francis, who visited South Korea a decade ago, told worshippers at the Vatican he joins "in prayer for the survivors and the dead".
"My thoughts are with the many families in South Korea who are mourning today following the dramatic plane crash," Francis said.
The aircraft was manufactured in 2009, the transport ministry said.
The two CFM56-7B26 engines were manufactured by CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aerospace and France's Safran, the transport ministry said.
A CFM spokesperson said: "We are deeply saddened by the loss of Jeju Air flight 2216. We extend our heartfelt sympathies to the families and loved ones of those on board."
Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae apologised for the accident, bowing deeply during a televised briefing.
He said the aircraft had no record of accidents and there were no early signs of malfunction. The airline will cooperate with investigators and make supporting the bereaved its top priority, Mr Kim said.
No abnormal conditions were reported when the aircraft left Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, said Kerati Kijmanawat, president of Airports of Thailand.
It is the first fatal flight for Jeju Air, a low-cost airline founded in 2005 that ranks behind only Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines in terms of the number of passengers in South Korea.
The accident happened only three weeks after Jeju Air started regular flights from Muan to Bangkok and other Asian cities on 8 December.
Muan International is one of South Korea's smallest airports but it has seen the number of international passengers jump nearly 20 times to 310,702 from January to November from the same period in 2022, according to government data.
Boeing said in a emailed statement: "We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding flight 2216 and stand ready to support them. We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew."
All domestic and international flights at Muan airport had been cancelled, Yonhap reported.
South Korean acting President Choi Sang-mok, named interim leader of the country on Friday in an ongoing political crisis, arrived at the scene of the accident and said the government was putting all its resources into dealing with the crash.
He declared a seven-day national mourning period until 4 January over the plane crash.
Two Thai women were on the plane, aged 22 and 45, Thai government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said, adding that details were still being verified.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra sent condolences to the families of the dead and injured in a post on X, saying she had instructed the foreign ministry to provide assistance.
The ministry said in a statement it was in touch with the South Korean authorities.
