Plane crash kills at least 167 in 'worst' airline disaster in South Korea

At least 167 people were killed when an Jeju Air plane belly-landed and veered off the runway, erupting in a fireball as it slammed into a wall at South Korea's Muan International Airport on Sunday, the national fire agency said.

Jeju Air flight 7C2216, arriving from the Thai capital Bangkok with 175 passengers and six crew on board, was attempting to land shortly after 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) at the airport in the south of the country, South Korea's transport ministry said.

Two people, both crew members, were rescued, and officials have suggested the rest are presumed dead.

It is the deadliest air accident ever on South Korean soil, and the worst involving a South Korean airline in nearly three decades, according to ministry data.

The twin-engine Boeing 737-800 was seen in video broadcast on local media skidding down the runway with no apparent landing gear before slamming into a wall in an explosion of flames and debris. Other photos showed smoke and fire engulfing parts of the plane.

The two crew members, a man and a woman, were rescued from the tail section of the burning plane, Muan fire chief Lee Jung-hyun told a briefing. The fire was extinguished as of 1 p.m., Lee said.

"Only the tail part retains a little bit of shape, and the rest of (the plane) looks almost impossible to recognize," he said.

Authorities switched from rescue to recovery operations and because of the force of the impact, were searching nearby areas for bodies possibly thrown from the plane, Lee added.

The two crew were being treated at hospitals with medium to severe injuries, said the head of the local public health center.

Reuters