Dozens have died in South Korea after a plane veered off the road and burst into flames

A passenger plane burst into flames Sunday after it skidded off the runway at a South Korean airport and crashed into a concrete fence when its front landing gear failed, killing at least 85 people, officials said in one of the country’s worst aviation disasters. .

The National Fire Agency (NFA) said the fire was almost extinguished but officials were still trying to pull people from the Jeju Air flight, which was carrying 181 people, at the airport in the southern city of Muan, about 290 kilometers to the south. in Seoul.

At least 85 people died in the fire, NFA said. Emergency personnel extricated two members – one male and one female.

It said it deployed 32 fire trucks and several helicopters to contain the fire.

Footage of the crash broadcast by YTN television showed the plane skidding across the airport, its landing gear apparently still closed, and crashing head-on into a concrete wall at the edge of the facility.

The Department of Transportation said the incident happened at 9:03 am local time.

Local TV stations broadcast images showing the plane engulfed in flames and thick pillows of black smoke billowing out.

Emergency services in Muan said they were investigating the cause of the fire, and initially said the landing gear of the plane appeared to be malfunctioning. The Ministry of Transport said the plane was returning from Bangkok, and its passengers included two Thai nationals.

The prime minister of Thailand, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, expressed his condolences to the families of those affected by the accident by writing on social media X. Paetongtarn said he ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide assistance immediately.

It is one of the deadliest disasters in South Korean aviation history. The last time South Korea suffered a major aviation disaster was in 1997 when a Korean Airline plane crashed in Guam, killing 228 people.

The incident occurred at a time when South Korea was facing a major political crisis caused by the imposition of martial law and the impeachment of then-president Yoon Suk Yeol.

On Friday, South Korean lawmakers reinstated acting president Han Duck-soo and suspended him, forcing Vice Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok to take over.

Choi ordered officials to use all available resources to rescue passengers and crew, according to Yonhap news agency.

Yoon’s office said his chief secretary, Chung Jin-suk, would chair an emergency meeting of the president’s top staff later on Sunday to discuss the incident.