Jeju Air flight from Bangkok crashed at Muan Airport...179 dead, 2 rescued.

[Anchor]
A Jeju Air passenger plane carrying 181 people crashed while landing at Muan International Airport, causing massive casualties.

Two crew members were rescued, and the remaining 179 passengers were killed.

This is reporter Choi Min Gi.

[Reporter]
At around 9:03 a.m., Jeju Air Flight 7C 2216 from Bangkok, Thailand, was reported to have caused an accident while landing at Muan International Airport.

The plane, which ran on a runway at the tail, was halved, crashing into a concrete fence, and was engulfed in a large blaze.

The plane had 181 passengers, including 175 passengers and six crew members, and included two Thais.

Of these, two crew members were rescued, but all 179 were killed.

[Lee Jung-hyun / Muan Fire Chief: The aircraft fuselage itself is severely damaged. It's hard to say that there are (survivors) in the fuselage.]

In the picture taken just before the accident, the plane is flying very low, similar to the height of the building.

It appears to have collided with a flock of birds just before landing, and the government believes the accident occurred while attempting a so-called "body landing" due to a landing gear failure, and is trying to determine the exact cause.

[Yoo Kyung-soo / Aviation safety policy officer at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport: The control tower gave a warning of "algae collision warning." Shortly after the delivery, the pilot declared Mayday (a distress signal).]

The government has declared Muan a special disaster area and is working on measures to recover casualties and support bereaved families.

I'm YTN's Choi Min Gi.

Reporter: Jung Chul Woo Won-sik
Video editing: Lee Jung-wook