After a Jeju Air flight crashed at a South Korean airport on Sunday, all of the passengers and the majority of the crew perished. Only two survivors—both cabin crew—were rescued from the flaming wreckage, leaving 179 of the 181 passengers on board the Boeing 737-800 dead.
The aircraft skidded off the runway and crashed into a wall in a huge explosion as it touched down at Muan International Airport in the south of the nation. With six crew members and 175 passengers, many of whom were vacationers, Flight 2216 had been returning from Bangkok, Thailand.
The cause is being investigated, and officials and experts have identified several potential contributing elements.
As they waited for the dead to be recognised, distraught family gathered in tears in the arrival area of the airport. Only their fingerprints have been used to identify some of the deceased.
The 78-year-old Maeng Gi-su informed the BBC that his nephew was on the plane along with his nephew's two sons. "I can't believe the entire family has just disappeared," stated the man. "My heart aches so much."
Two Thai nationals and 173 South Koreans were among the passengers. According to the Yonhap news agency in South Korea, they ranged in age from three to 78, with the majority being in their 40s, 50s, and 60s.
A 49-year-old Jongluk Doungmanee had been travelling back to South Korea from Thailand to see relatives. The mother of two worked in agriculture and resided in South Korea with her spouse.
Pornphichaya Chalermsin, her cousin, described how she had "only ever seen such news from other countries and never thought it would involve Thai people" in an interview with BBC Thai. She also added, "Watching the video footage made me feel even more distressed."
The incident, which occurred just after 9:00 local time (00:00 GMT), was seen on camera. It showed the plane landing without wheels, going off the runway, and colliding with the wall around the airport before catching fire.
The plane had trouble landing, according to South Korean transport officials, and the pilot, who had flown more than 6,800 hours, had to abandon the initial attempt because of interference from birds. The pilot was permitted to land in the opposite direction from the typical one after issuing a mayday call shortly after.
The catastrophe is a national tragedy for South Korea, which has been engulfed in a political crisis following the impeachment of both President Yoon Suk Yeol and his acting successor by parliament.
Choi Sang-mok, the acting president who was only appointed on Friday, went to the crash site on Sunday. "I want to extend my sincere sympathies to all of the victims of the tragedy. "I'll do everything I can to help the injured get better as soon as possible," he declared.
At a news conference on Sunday, Jeju Air executives also bowed profoundly as they apologised publicly. "To everyone impacted by the situation, we sincerely apologise. We'll do everything we can to find a solution," the company said in a statement.
