SEOUL, Dec 29 (Reuters) – At least 28 people were killed when an airliner went off the runway and slammed into a wall at South Korea’s Muan International Airport on Sunday, Yonhap news agency reported.
The accident occurred as the Jeju Air plane, carrying 175 passengers and six crew on a flight from the Thai capital Bangkok, was landing at the airport in the south of the country, the report said.
Two people were found alive and rescue operations were still under way, a Muan fire official said. The official could not confirm the reports of 28 dead.
Authorities were working to rescue people in the tail section, an airport official told Reuters.
Video shared by local media showed the twin-engine aircraft skidding down the runway with no apparent landing gear before slamming into a wall in an explosion of flame and debris. Other photos showed smoke and fire engulfing parts of the plane.
Acting President Choi Sang-mok, who was named interim leader of the country on Friday after the previous acting president was impeached amid an ongoing political crisis, ordered all-out rescue efforts, his office said.
A Jeju Air spokesperson said the airline was checking the reports.
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Reporting by Hyunsu Yim, Ju-min Park, Cynthia Kim, and Hyunjoo Jin; Writing by Josh Smith; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and William Mallard
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