Jeju Air plane from Thailand with 181 on board crashes in South Korea after veering off runway; two rescued, at least 29 dead

SEOUL, Dec 29 — 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 Jeju Air flight 7C2216, 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 29 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.

Aviation tracking site FlightRadar24 said the aircraft appeared to be a Boeing 737-800. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

South Korean 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.

His chief of staff convened an emergency meeting.

A Jeju Air spokesperson said the airline was checking the reports. — Reuters