28 killed after plane with 121 on board catches fire at Muan airport in South Korea | VIDEO
Seoul: South Korean media are reporting that 28 people have been confirmed dead after a plane caught fire at an airport in the country's south.
South Korea's emergency office said the fire was put out and rescue officials were trying to remove passengers from the Jeju Air passenger plane at the airport in the South Korean city of Muan. It said the plane with about 180 people was returning from Bangkok.
Yonhap news agency reported the 28 deaths, but the emergency office couldn't immediately confirm the casualty figure. Other South Korean media outlets carried similar casualty. "175 passengers, 6 crew members aboard plane crashed at Muan airport," Yonhap reported.
Video of the landing shows that the aircraft's landing gear had not deployed. The crash is believed to have been caused by "contact with birds, resulting in malfunctioning landing gear" as the plane attempted to land at the airport in the country's southwest, Yonhap reported.
Rescue authorities were evacuating passengers from the rear section of the jet, Yonhap said, citing the fire department. A photo showed the tail section of the jet engulfed in flames on what appeared to be the side of the runway, with firefighters and emergency vehicles nearby. Local TV stations also aired footage showing thick pillows of black smoke billowing from the plane engulfed with flame.
Officials were ordered to employ all available resources to rescue the passengers and crew, according to emergency authorities.
Agencies