Seoul, December 29 (HS): 151 people have died so far in the crash of a Jeju Airlines plane while landing at Muan International Airport in South Korea on Sunday. Two people are reported to have survived the accident. However, the death toll in the accident has not been officially revealed yet. There were 175 passengers and six crew members on board the crashed plane. South Korea's acting president reached the spot and reviewed the rescue operation.

According to the incident, the Jeju Airlines plane was returning from Bangkok to Muan International Airport in South Korea at around 9 am today. When the landing attempt failed, the plane circled the airport and tried to land again, but the plane went off the runway and hit the wall at the end of the runway, after which the plane caught fire. According to The Korea Times, after the plane crash, the emergency rescue team rescued two crew members. But officials do not expect other passengers on board the plane to survive because most parts of the plane, except the rear, were severely burned or badly damaged. Officials are investigating the cause of the accident. In which it has been initially found that the landing gear of the plane was faulty. However, investigators also suspect a bird hit the plane in the accident. Because before the accident, flames and smoke were seen coming out from under the right wing of the engine. A Transport Ministry official told reporters that the control tower at the airport had warned of a possible bird attack. Upon receiving information about the incident, South Korea's acting President Choi Sang-mok reached the accident site and took stock of the rescue operation. Along with this, Jeju Airlines has issued a statement apologizing to all those whose family members were killed or suffered damage in this accident. Jeju Air is one of the largest low-cost airlines in South Korea.

This flight of Jeju Air had 173 Korean passengers, two Thai passengers and six crew members on board. The plane departed from Bangkok at 1:30 pm and was scheduled to land at Muan International Airport at 8:30 am. This is the biggest plane crash involving a Korean passenger plane after the Korean plane crash in Guam in 1997, in which 228 people died.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar