Plane veers off airport runway in South Korea and crashes, killing 179: reports

close

Video

Rescuers seen pulling people out of plane following deadly crash at South Korean airport

Devastating crash attributed to malfunctioning landing gear, killing 179 people. (Associated Press)

A Jeju Air flight skidded off a runway in South Korea and collided with a concrete fence, killing 179 people, the Associated Press reported, citing the country's National Fire Agency (NFA).

The Yonhap News Agency attributed the devastating crash, one of the worst in the country's history, to malfunctioning landing gear. 

Jeju Air, a low-cost airline in South Korea, was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members in the Boeing 737-800 when the incident occurred Sunday morning local time at Muan International Airport in Muan County, South Jeolla Province, roughly 180 miles south of Seoul.

So far, the victims have been identified as 84 women, 82 men and 11 others whose genders weren’t immediately identifiable, the fire agency said. 

KAZAKHSTAN PLANE CRASH SURVIVORS SAY THEY HEARD BANGS BEFORE AIRCRAFT WENT DOWN; PUTIN ISSUES STATEMENT

Firefighters carry out extinguishing operations on an aircraft which drove off runaway at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Jeolla Province, South Korea, on Dec. 29. (Yonhap via Reuters)

Two crew members, a man and a woman, survived. Health officials say they are conscious and expected to recover. They were rescued from the tail section of the burning plane, the "part that retains a little bit of shape" while the rest of the aircraft "looks almost impossible to recognize," Muan fire chief Lee Jung-hyun said in a press briefing, according to Reuters. 

Ju Woong, director of the Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital, where one of the survivors was hospitalized, said the man was being treated in an intensive care unit for fractures to his ribs, shoulder blade and upper spine. Ju said the man, whose name wasn't released, told doctors he "woke up to find (himself) rescued."

Firefighters carry out extinguishing operations on an aircraft which drove off runaway at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Jeolla Province, South Korea, on Dec. 29. (Yonhap via Reuters)

The plane landed at 9:07 a.m. local time at the airport when the incident happened. 

According to the Associated Press, the passenger plane slammed into a concrete fence on the runway after its front landing gear failed to deploy. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The plane was flying back to South Korea from Thailand, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

Photos shared by local media showed smoke billowing out of the plane.

A senior Transport Ministry official said that the flight data recorder from the plane’s black box was retrieved and that crews were still searching for the cockpit voice recording device, according to the AP.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.