Victor Ezeja
Not less than 179 people were killed on Sunday when an aircraft operated by Jeju Air crash-landed at Muan International Airport in South Korea.
The plane carrying 181 passengers was said to have skidded off a runway and hit a concrete fence at the airport. It burst into flame after hitting the concrete fence.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAn Aljazeera report quoted the country’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport saying the aircraft which is a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 jet, was returning from Bangkok when the incident happened. It had 175 passengers and six crew members. Two of the crew members were rescued after the accident, while all the 175 passengers and four flight staff on board were killed in the crash, according to Yonhap news agency report.
“Of the 179 dead, 65 have been identified,” South Korea’s fire agency said. It revealed that the two crew members who survived, were rescued from the tail of the aircraft and had sustained some degrees of injuries.
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According to the National Fire Agency the 179 people killed in the crash included 85 women, 84 men and 10 others whose genders the authorities were yet to identify.
Images shared on social media showed moments the aircraft crash-landed and skidded off the runway and cut fire.
This is considered one of the worst air disaster in the country‘s aviation history.
Meanwhile, South Korean government has declared seven days of national mourning over the plane crash.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has shocked over the high number of deaths in the incident and conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased, and his best wishes for a quick recovery for the injured.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
