A tragic plane crash occurred in South Korea on Sunday morning, resulting in the deaths of 179 people.
The Jeju Air Flight 2216, carrying 175 passengers and six crew members, crashed while landing at Muan International Airport around 9 a.m. local time.
The Boeing 737 aircraft, which had taken off from Bangkok, veered off the runway and crashed into a wall.
The crash led to a massive explosion and fire, leaving the plane almost completely destroyed.
Firefighters and rescue teams quickly arrived at the scene, but rescuers presumed that most passengers and crew members were dead.
Authorities rescued two crew members from the wreckage and transported them to the hospital for treatment.
Medical officials have not released details about their conditions.
The National Fire Agency reported that the official death toll has steadily climbed since the crash.
The transport ministry is investigating the cause of the crash, with initial reports suggesting a possible bird strike.
The control tower had issued a warning about a potential bird strike just before the crash.
The pilot sent a mayday distress signal shortly after the warning, and the tower granted the aircraft permission to land.
Investigators have recovered the aircraft’s flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) from the wreckage.
The FDR was found partially damaged, while the CVR was intact.
Decrypting the FDR data will likely take around a month. If extensive damage exists, the NTSB will decode it.
Videos from the scene capture the plane landing at high speed with its landing gear retracted, suggesting a malfunction.
Flames and thick smoke were visible at the crash site.
Authorities set up a temporary morgue at the airport to handle the deceased.
President Biden expressed his condolences, stating that the American people share deep bonds of friendship with the South Korean people.
Jeju Air, a South Korean low-cost carrier, apologized for the incident and pledged to support the affected families.