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South Korea plane crash: What led to the deadly Jeju Air aircraft accident?
Jeju Air flight 7C2216, carrying 175 passengers and six crew on a flight from Bangkok, crashed at around 9am.
As many as 179 out of the 181 passengers were killed after a South Korean passenger plane crashed on landing at the country's Muan International Airport. The incident took place when Jeju Air flight 7C2216, carrying 175 passengers and six crew on a flight from Bangkok, was landing around 9 am (local time).
Video shared by local media showed the twin-engine aircraft skidding down the runway with no apparent landing gear before slamming into a wall and erupting into a fireball. Follow LIVE updates.
Visuals from the crash site showed smoke and fire engulfing parts of the plane. Two people – a man and a woman – were found alive and are undergoing treatment.
Also Read | Video shows exact moment when South Korean aircraft crashed
South Korea's National Fire Agency said that it deployed 32 fire trucks and several helicopters to contain the fire. All flight operations at Muan International Airport have been suspended after the incident.
The passengers included two Thai nationals and the rest are believed to be South Koreans, according to the transportation ministry.
What caused the plane crash?
South Korean news agency Yonhap, citing authorities, reported that a malfunction of the landing gear is likely behind the cause of the crash.
Airport authorities said that the flight was attempting a crash landing due to a malfunction in its landing gear when the crash occurred. Its first landing attempt had failed earlier.
They added that the plane, however, appeared to have failed to reduce its speed until it reached the end of the runway and crashed into the wall at the outer edge of the airport, erupting into a fireball.
Local fire chief, however, said that a bird strike and adverse weather was likely the cause behind the a fatal crash.
"The cause of the accident is presumed to be a bird strike combined with adverse weather conditions. However, the exact cause will be announced following a joint investigation," Lee Jeong-hyun, chief of Muan fire station, said during a briefing, according to Reuters. However, an official statement on the cause of the plane crash is awaited.
The incident comes days after an Azerbaijan Airline plane crashed near Kazakhstan's Aktau last week, killing 38 of the 67 people on board and leaving all others injured.
