A Jeju Air passenger plane carrying 175 passengers and six crew members crashed while landing at the airport in the South Korean city of Muan. According to the AP news agency, defective landing gear is the cause. At least 28 people have died.
The plane went off the runway, then hit a fence and caught fire. Images show thick clouds of black smoke coming from the plane. The rescue work is still in full swing. The fire has almost been extinguished. According to the Yonhap news agency, at least two people have now been rescued from the plane alive.
The accident happened around 9 a.m. local time. The plane was en route from the Thai capital Bangkok to Muan in the south of South Korea.
South Korea’s new acting president Choi Sang-mok has declared a massive rescue operation. He has only been acting president since last Friday, after the South Korean parliament voted to impeach interim president Han Duck-soo.