As many as 179 people have died and two people were rescued from a plane carrying 181 people that crashed at the Muan International Airport in South Korea on Sunday, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing rescue authorities.
“Of the 179 dead, 65 have been identified,” the fire agency said of the crash, which two members of the crew survived.
The accident occurred on Sunday at 9:03 am local time (00:03 GMT) as the Jeju Air flight, carrying 175 passengers and six crew from the Thai capital Bangkok, landed at Muan International Airport about 290km (180 miles) southwest of the capital Seoul.
The Boeing 737-800 plane was operated by South Korea’s Jeju Air and had taken off from Bangkok.
The National Fire Agency confirmed that 179 people – 85 women, 84 men and 10 others whose genders weren’t immediately identifiable – have been killed, and two people have been rescued – both crew members.
McBride said only 65 victims out of 179 have so far been identified because of the huge fire on the plane.
The fire that engulfed the plane has been extinguished, the agency said.
A bird strike and adverse weather conditions were cited by authorities as likely causes of the crash that flung passengers out of the plane and left it “almost completely destroyed”, according to fire officials.
Two minutes before the crash, the pilot issued a Mayday call, it added.
When asked if the accident happened due to the runway being too short — video shows the plane coming off the tarmac and hitting a wall — the official said this was likely not a factor.
South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok, in an emergency meeting on Sunday evening, declared a national mourning period until January 4 over the plane crash.