Plane burst into flames at South Korean airport, killing at least 120

A passenger plane burst into flames on Sunday after skidding off the runway at a South Korean airport, killing at least 120 people in what has become one of the country's worst aviation disasters.

The Jeju Air plane, carrying 181 people, crashed into a concrete fence at Muan Airport, approximately 290 kilometers (180 miles) south of Seoul. Officials reported that the front landing gear appeared to have failed to deploy, leading to the tragic accident.

Rescue efforts were swift, with the National Fire Agency deploying 32 fire trucks and several helicopters to contain the fire and save passengers. Emergency workers managed to pull out two crew members alive from the wreckage, though the majority of passengers could not be saved.

Footage aired by YTN television showed the plane skidding across the runway with its landing gear still retracted before colliding with a concrete wall on the outskirts of the airport at 9:03 a.m. local time. Black smoke billowed from the plane, which was engulfed in flames.

Emergency officials are investigating the cause of the fire and believe that a malfunction in the landing gear was likely responsible. The transport ministry confirmed that the plane had been returning from Bangkok, with its passengers including two Thai nationals.

Thailand’s Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, expressed her condolences to the victims' families through a post on social platform X. She announced that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been ordered to provide immediate assistance to the affected Thai nationals.

This tragedy marks one of the deadliest aviation disasters in South Korea’s history. The last major air disaster occurred in 1997, when a Korean Airlines plane crashed in Guam, claiming the lives of 228 people.