CONTENT WARNING: Content in this article may be distressing.
A mass tragedy has occurred in South Korea, as a Jeju Air plane with malfunctioning landing gear has had a horrific crash. All but two of the 181 people on board are presumed dead.
Jeju Air flight 7C2216 was carrying 181 people as it returned from Bangkok to the Muan International Airport in South Korea, when upon landing it veered from the runway and crashed into a wall.
First reported to be 28, the confirmed death toll quickly rose to 85. Only two individuals have been rescued so far, including one flight attendant and one passenger, with all others presumed dead.
The model of the Jeju Air flight 7C2216 aircraft was a Boeing 737-800. It carried 175 passengers and six flight attendants.
Unverified footage of the crash has surfaced online, which shows the harrowing last moments of the plane speeding down the runway without landing gear deployed.
As smoke billows from the plane’s belly, it is unable to slow down or change course, and crashes directly into a wall at the end of the runway at high speeds, erupting into a violent explosion.
While exact details are not yet known, local media reported that birds getting caught in the plane’s landing gear may have been the cause for the crash.
Others reports say this was the flight’s second landing attempt, which was “a crash landing attempt due to a malfunctioning landing gear”.
Additional footage shared online captures a moment while the plane is airborne and its right engine turbine appears to explode suddenly, with the video too obscured to determine the explosion’s cause.
As many as 32 firetrucks have been deployed to the site of the accident, with emergency rescue operations still ongoing. South Korea’s National Fire Agency has reported that the fire has been put out, per the ABC.
All domestic and international flights have been officially cancelled at the airport.
Investigations are currently underway as to the exact circumstances of the tragic accident.
Lead Image Source: AP Newsroom / Lee Young-ju
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