A plane crash in South Korea has killed 179 out of 181 passengers on board.
Flight JJA-2216, a Jeju Air plane carrying 181 passengers, crashed and caught fire at 09:03 local time (01:03 in Belgium) on Sunday. The accident is one of the deadliest in South Korean history.
The crash is likely due to a collision with birds while landing at Muan Airport in southwest South Korea. The plane had been travelling from Bangkok in Thailand.
"Of the 179 dead, 65 have been identified," firefighters stated, adding that DNA samples were being taken. The survivors are two crew members, who were rescued from the plane. The youngest passenger was a three-year-old boy and the eldest was 78.
"The presumed cause is a collision with birds combined with unfavourable weather conditions, but the exact cause will be determined following an investigation," said Lee Jeong-hyun, chief of the Muan firestation, during a press briefing. The cockpit voice recorder and the recorder with the flight data have been found.
'Must mobilise all resources'
Images broadcast by South Korean television stations showed numerous emergency service vehicles and dozens of firefighters working around the charred wreckage of the plane, with the exception of the tail, and evacuating bodies wrapped in blue shrouds on stretchers.
Choi Sang-mok, the interim head of state appointed on Friday in a country shaken by a serious political crisis, chaired an emergency government meeting and will travel to Muan on Sunday afternoon, his office announced.
Credit: Belga / AFP
"All agencies concerned [...] must mobilise all available resources to save the people," he ordered in a statement.
This is the first fatal accident in the history of Jeju Air, one of South Korea's largest low-cost airlines, founded in 2005.
"Jeju Air will do everything in its power to deal with this accident. We sincerely apologise," the company wrote in a statement posted on social media on Sunday.
National mourning
Sang-mok has declared a seven-day period of national mourning following the crash, effective immediately and lasting until midnight on Saturday.
Memorial shrines will be set up at the crash site and in 17 cities and provinces, including Seoul and the southwestern city of Gwangju, the Finance Ministry said.
Officials will wear mourning ribbons as a mark of respect for the victims.
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South Korea has received messages of support from around the world, with Chinese President Xi Jinping expressing his condolences to Choi, according to state media.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke on X of "terrible news". He offered his condolences to the relatives and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
Pope Francis said his thoughts were with the families and that he was praying for the victims.
This article is being updated.
