Plane crash in Korea… a significant increase in the death toll

This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:

This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:

Heba Press – Agencies

The death toll from the crash of a Korean airliner carrying 181 people at Mu An International Airport in the southwest of the country rose to 174 on Sunday, authorities said.

Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that the accident occurred at 9:07 a.m., when Jeju Air’s Boeing 737-800 left the runway during landing and collided with a runway fence. Muan International Airport, in Muan City, about 288 kilometers southwest of Seoul. .

Firefighters said that except for two people, all passengers were presumed dead, adding that they had resorted to search operations to recover the bodies.

Authorities confirmed that 174 people have been killed so far in the crash.

An official of the authorities said that after the plane collided with the wall, the passengers were thrown from the plane and the chances of survival were very slim.

He added that the plane’s fuselage was almost completely destroyed and it was difficult to identify the victims, adding that operations to recover the bodies were underway, which would take some time.

Two female crew members were rescued shortly after the accident and are being treated at a hospital in Mokpo town.

There were 181 people on board the plane, arriving from Bangkok, including six crew members. Most of the passengers were Koreans, except for two Thais.

Video clips broadcast by local television stations showed the plane trying to land without using the wheels, but it veered off the runway and collided with a concrete wall before exploding and catching fire . The plane was almost completely destroyed by the explosion.

Authorities suspect that a landing gear malfunction, possibly due to a collision with birds, was the cause of the accident. They began an on-site investigation to determine the exact cause