South korea plane crash dozens dead after jet crash lands at airport 20241229 p5rofe.html – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Dozens dead after South Korean jet crash-lands at airport

Sarah Swain and CNN

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Only two people out of 181 on board are thought to have survived a devastating passenger plane crash in South Korea.

Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 from Bangkok was carrying 175 passengers and six crew when disaster struck at Muan International Airport.

Here's what we know so far.

Attribution: Supplied
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Scores of people were killed when the passenger jet crash-landed at an airport in south-western South Korea, with the aircraft careening down the runway on its belly before bursting into flames.

Two people, both crew members, were pulled alive from the crash site but rescuers warned there was little hope of finding further survivors.

Attribution: AP
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Disaster struck at the airport in Muan county, just after 9am (11am) on Sunday.

The accident was caused by a landing gear malfunction, officials said.

Attribution: Getty
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Footage of Sunday's crash broadcast by multiple South Korean news outlets showed the plane sliding on its belly at high speed, hitting an earthen embankment and erupting in a fireball.

Neither the back nor front landing gear was visible in the footage – broadcast by networks including YTN, JTBC and MBC – as smoke poured from the back of the sliding aircraft.

Attribution: AP
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Firefighters were later seen using water cannons to extinguish the blazing wreckage of the aircraft, which was listed as a Boeing 737-800 on flight-tracking site FlightAware.

Attribution: AP
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Both of the survivors were crew members, one male and one female, according to the rescue team.

Two Thai nationals were among those on board, according to the South Korean Land Ministry, which said officers from the national Incident Investigation Committee had arrived to look into what caused the accident.

Attribution: AP
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Rescue workers will search for the "black box" flight data recorders after recovering the bodies of the remaining victims, the Transport Ministry said in a briefing.

The recorders offer aviation safety investigators critical facts when piecing together what happened after an incident.

More than 700 personnel from the police, military, and coast guard have been mobilised for on-site response efforts, the ministry added.

Attribution: AP
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South Korea's acting president said the site of Sunday's plane crash has been declared a special disaster zone as he vowed a full investigation into what caused the deadly disaster.

"We will concentrate all resources on recovery and support for the victims. All necessary resources are being mobilised, and a special disaster zone has been declared," Choi Sang-mok said in a statement.

Attribution: AP
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One of the victims being taken away on a stretcher.

Boeing extended its condolences to those who lost loved ones in the crash.

"We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding Flight 2216 and stand ready to support them," Boeing said in a short statement posted to its X account.

Attribution: AP
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Several parts of the aircraft were also seen strewn across the runway, with debris also around the airfield.

Attribution: Getty
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