174 dead out of 181 passengers…the death toll from the South Korean plane

The death toll from a plane crash at a South Korean airport has risen to 174, according to fire brigade officials.

The National Fire Agency said that rescuers rushed to extract people from the Jeju Air plane, which was carrying 181 people, at the airport in the city of Muan, which is located about 290 kilometers south of Seoul.

South Korean authorities said that a fire broke out in a plane carrying 181 people after it veered off the runway and collided with a concrete wall at Muan International Airport, southwest of Seoul, on Sunday morning. It is believed that the accident killed most of the passengers, with the exception of two people who were rescued, according to Yonhap.

The accident occurred at 9:07 a.m., when the Jeju Air plane swerved during landing and collided with a fence at the airport in the town of Mu’an, about 288 kilometers southwest of the capital, Seoul.

Save two people

Firefighting teams reported that all passengers were likely dead except for the two survivors, and indicated that search operations to uncover the bodies had begun. Authorities have confirmed the deaths of 120 people so far.

An official in the authorities said that the passengers were ejected from the plane after it collided with the wall, and that their chances of survival were very slim. He also added that the plane was almost completely destroyed, which made it difficult to identify the victims, and he confirmed that the process of recovering the bodies is still underway.

Two female crew members were later rescued from the accident and are receiving treatment at a hospital in Mokpo City.

The plane was en route from Bangkok to Seoul, carrying 181 people, including six crew members, and most of the passengers were Koreans, with the exception of two Thais.

Video clips broadcast by local television stations showed the plane trying to land without using the wheels, which led to it veering off the runway and colliding with the concrete wall before it exploded and caught fire. The plane was almost completely destroyed as a result of the explosion.

Officials suspect a malfunction of the landing gear, possibly due to a collision with birds, was the cause of the accident. Investigations began at the site to determine the exact cause.