At least 28 passengers dead in Muan airport crash

A plane is on fire after it veers off the runway at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla on Dec. 29. [YONHAP]

At least 28 passengers died after a plane crashed while landing at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla on Sunday morning.  
 
At around 9:07 a.m., Jeju Air’s Flight 7C 2216, a Boeing 737-800 returning from Thailand’s Bangkok carrying 181 people, caught fire after veering off the runway and colliding with a fence wall.  
 
Although it is unclear what caused the crash as of press time, a bird strike is suspected to have caused a failure in operating the landing gear. 
 
Rescue operations are currently underway.
 

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There were 175 passengers —173 Korean nationals and two Thai nationals — and 6 crew members on board the plane. 
 
Firefighting authorities dispatched some 80 firefighters and initially extinguished the fire at around 9:46 a.m. Helicopters were also dispatched to the scene to put out the blaze.
 
 Update, Dec. 29: Updated details of nationalities of passengers and an aircraft. 
 

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]