Dozens of people died on Sunday when a passenger jet crash-landed at an airport in southwestern South Korea, with the aircraft skidding down the runway on its belly before bursting into flames.
At least 125 people have been confirmed dead so far, according to the local fire department. Two people, both crew members, were pulled alive from the wreckage however rescuers warned chances finding other survivors are slim.
Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 from Bangkok was carrying 175 passengers and six crew when disaster struck at the airport in Muan county, just after 9 a.m. local time Sunday (7 p.m. ET Saturday).
It is the deadliest aviation disaster to hit South Korea since 1997, when a Korean Airlines Boeing 747 crashed in the Guam jungle, with the loss of 228 lives.
The chief executive of Jeju Air, South Korea’s largest low-cost carrier, said the aircraft had shown “no signs of issues” prior to Sunday’s accident.
