120 dead in South Korea Jeju Air plane crash

At least 85 people were killed on Sunday when an airliner veered off the runway and erupted into a fireball as it slammed into a wall at South Korea’s Muan International Airport, the national fire agency said.

Two people were rescued, the agency said.

The fire engulfed the aircraft when it skidded off the runway just after landing and struck a barrier. The country’s emergency office said its landing gear appeared to have malfunctioned.

Fire officials said they had extinguished the blaze by late morning.

The accident occurred as Jeju Air flight 7C2216, carrying 175 passengers and six crew on a flight from the Thai capital Bangkok, was landing at the airport in the southwest of the country, the report said. Two Thai nationals were on board the plane in addition to the South Korean citizens heading home.

Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, expressed deep condolences to the families of those affected by the accident through a post on social platform X. Paetongtarn said she had ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide help immediately.