Five children, including a 3-year-old boy, among 179 killed in South Korea plane crash

Nearly all on board a passenger plane which crashed in South Korea have died after a suspected bird strike.

A Boeing 737-800, operated by airline Jeju Air, had been carrying 181 passengers before it burst into flames on landing.

Flight 7C 2216 had travelled to Muan Airport from Bangkok, Thailand at 9am local time, before footage shared online appears to show it coming off the runway and crashing into a wall, before bursting into flames.

The disaster is the deadliest aviation incident in the country’s history.

The two survivors are members of the flight crew who were pulled from the tail of the wreckage.

Jeju Air aircraft flight 7C2216 goes down the runway before crashing at Muan International Airport (Picture: Reuters)

More than a hundred passengers have died (Picture: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

No cause has been confirmed, and rescue efforts are continuing.

However, one of thethe main theories of what led to the crash is a bird strike. Transport ministry officials said early assessment of communication records show the airport control tower issued a bird strike warning to the plane shortly before it intended to land, giving its pilot permission to land in a different area.

The plane slammed into a concrete fence and burst into flames after its front landing gear apparently failed to deploy, officials said.

Marco Chan, a senior lecturer in aviation operations at Buckinghamshire New University, said: ‘Evidence suggests the aircraft encountered a flock of birds during its approach, leading to suspected bird ingestion into the engines.

‘Witnesses reported hearing explosions and seeing flames from the right-hand engine, indicating potential damage. This damage may have caused a hydraulic system failure, which could explain the inability to deploy the landing gear.

‘A bird strike warning was issued at 08.57 local time, only six minutes before the crash. The crew declared Mayday at 08.58 and attempted to land on the opposite runway 19.

‘This tight timeline likely constrained the crew’s ability to troubleshoot effectively and assess all options, including possible diversion to an alternate airport with a longer runway.

‘The inability to deploy the landing gear forced the crew to attempt a belly landing on Muan’s 2,800-metre runway.’

More than 1,500 emergency personnel have been deployed for the rescue and recovery effort, including 490 fire employees and 455 police officers.

The latest update includes a flight recorder from the plane having been recovered.

The plane was on fire after crashing into a wall (Picture: AP)

Where did Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 crash?

The plane crashed into a fence and caught fire after skidding off a runway at Muan International Airport.

It was arriving at the airport from Bangkok, Thailand, at 9am local time.

Muan International Airport is in the Muan County, South Jeolla Province of South Korea.

(Picture: Mehmet Yaren Bozgun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The plane was carrying 181 passengers and crew on board (Picture: EPA)

How many have died?

Of the 181 passengers on board, all but two were killed making the death toll 179.

Victims included 84 women, 82 men and 11 others whose genders were not immediately identifiable.

The official death toll is 179 (Picture: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

Two survivors were rescued from the debris (Picture: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

The youngest victim was a boy just three years old, according to passenger records reported in local media. He was one of five children under 10 killed in the fire, while the oldest victim was a man aged 78.

There were two Thai nationals on board, women aged 22 and 45, in addition to 173 South Koreans.

Why did the plane crash?

It has not yet been confirmed why the plane crashed, though the fire department said a ‘bird strike’ and bad weather could be likely causes.

It is thought a bird strike or bad weather could have caused the crash (Picture: via REUTERS)

In a televised briefing, Lee Jeong-hyun, the chief of Muan Fire Department, said the tail section of the plane appeared to be intact but ‘one cannot recognise the shape of the rest of the plane’.

The exact cause is being investigated.

What model was the plane?

The plane was a Boeing 737-800 jet operated by Jeju Air.

South Korean soldiers check near the wreckage of a passenger plane at Muan International Airport on December 29, 2024 in Muan-gun, South Korea (Picture: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

The airline was established in 2005 and covers routes in South Korea and across cities in the Asia-Pacific regions including Japan and China.

According to the BBC, Jeju Air claims to be South Korea’s ‘number one’ low-cost airline.

What has Jeju Air’s response been?

The CEO of airline Jeju Air publicly apologised to the victims of the crash.

Kim E-Bae and other company officials stood with bowed heads, and said supporting the bereaved was their top priority.

The airline had earlier changed its website to black and published an apology.

Sophia Martinez