At approximately 9:03 AM on December 29th, Jeju Air flight 7C2216 (Boeing 737-800, registration number: HL8088) from Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi to Muan made a belly landing at Muan International Airport and caught fire.
The flight, which was delayed by 41 minutes from its scheduled departure, left Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi at 2:11 AM on the same day. It was expected to arrive in Muan 20 minutes behind its scheduled arrival time of 8:50 AM.
Footage reported by local media and Reuters news agency shows the aircraft belly landing at high speed without its landing gear deployed, followed by a collision with a structure, leading to an explosion and subsequent total engulfment in flames. A bird strike is among the speculated causes of the incident, though the exact cause has yet to be determined.
According to the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the flight had 181 passengers aboard, including 6 crew members and 175 passengers. Among the passengers, two were of Thai nationality, with the majority being South Korean. Eighty-five fatalities have been confirmed, and two individuals, one male and one female, have been rescued.
Minister Park Jong-you said, “We will provide all possible support for the bereaved families and, as this is a grave accident, plan to thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident once the initial response is complete, so that our citizens do not feel uneasy.”
Jeju Air has initiated an emergency response plan, offering support to the victims’ families and passengers. In a statement, representative Kim Ye-bae expressed, “We extend our deepest condolences and apologies to the passengers who lost their lives in this accident and their families. At this moment, it is difficult to speculate on the cause of the accident, and we must await the formal investigation findings from the relevant government institutions. Regardless of the cause of the accident, I deeply feel the responsibility as the representative. Jeju Air will make every effort for quick accident recovery and support for the families of those on board. We will also do our best to uncover the cause of the accident along with the government.”
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This article was generated using automatic translation by GPT-4 API. The translation may not be accurate.
