South Korea Plane Crash: A plane carrying 181 people crashed at Muan International Airport in South Korea on Sunday (29 December 2024). Reuters quoted Yonhap News Agency as saying that about 179 people have died in this accident. Two people have been found alive during rescue operations at Muan Airport. According to a report by Yonhap News Agency, the accident occurred at 9:07 am when a Jeju Air plane slid off the runway during landing and collided with a fence wall at Muan International Airport.
After this accident, Korea’s Jeju Airlines issued a statement that we sincerely apologize to all those who have suffered for the Muan airport accident.Â
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The accident happened at 5:37 am Indian time (9:07 am local time). The plane was about to land at Muan International Airport. At that time a fault was detected in the landing gear. Due to this, its wheels did not open and come down.
When the wheels did not open, the plane had to make an emergency belly landing. In this, the body of the plane directly collides with the runway. During this, the plane slid on the runway and hit the boundary wall of the airport. As soon as it collided, there was a loud explosion in the plane and it turned into a ball of fire.
After the accident, operations at the airport were shut down. All local and international flights were cancelled. According to Reuters, an alert about a plane collision was sent from the control tower.
South Korea Plane Crash: Pictures of the accident
Tried landing twice, accident happened on the second time
The plane of Jeju Airlines that crashed was a 737-800 plane of the American company Boeing. The plane tried twice to land at the airport. The plane could not land the first time because the landing gear did not open. After this, the plane circled the airport once.
The pilot decided to belly land the plane for the second time without landing gear. According to many media reports, it is being claimed that a bird hit the wing of the plane. Due to this, the landing gear got damaged and could not open while landing.
South Korea Plane Crash: President issued guidelines
According to The Guardian, South Korea’s acting president Choi Sang-mok said that all possible efforts have been ordered for rescue. Acting president Choi Sang-mok has also reached the accident site.
It took 43 minutes to extinguish the fire, by then the plane was reduced to ashes
While talking to Reuters, the fire officer of Muan Airport said that the fire in the plane has been brought under control. However, it took 43 minutes to extinguish the fire.
At present, rescue operations are going on at the crash site. Most of the people were in the rear part of the plane, efforts are being made to take them out from there. Among the passengers on board the plane, there were 173 South Koreans and 2 Thai citizens. According to media reports, the two survivors are crew members.
Jeju Air CEO apologizes for the accident
Jeju Air CEO Kim I-bae has expressed regret over the accident and apologized to the people. Kim said, “Whatever the reason behind the accident, I take full responsibility as the CEO.”
The company said that it is making every possible effort for relief and rescue. According to company officials, the plane was operational for the last 15 years. This plane has never crashed before. At present, there is a possibility of failure of landing gear due to bird collision.
South Korea Plane Crash: Company Issued Helpline Number
The company has issued two numbers for the families of domestic and foreign nationals. 080-898-1500 has been issued for domestic passengers and +82-1599-8629 for foreign passengers. There were a total of 181 people on board the plane, including six crew members, returning from Bangkok. Most of the passengers on the plane were from Korea, except for two Thai citizens. Video broadcast by local TV stations shows the plane attempting to land without deploying landing gear.
Plane skids off runway in Canada, wing catches fire
In Canada, on Saturday night (Sunday morning 8 am Indian time), a passenger plane slipped while landing at Halifax Airport. While landing, a part of the plane tilted towards the runway. Due to this, the wing of the plane caught fire. However, there was no loss of life or property.
There was a plane crash in Kazakhstan 4 days ago
On December 25, a plane going from Azerbaijan to Russia crashed near Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan. There were 67 people on board the plane, including 5 crew members. Of these, 38 people died. The plane was to reach Grozny from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
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