South Korea is grieving after 179 people lost their lives in the country’s deadliest aviation disaster on Sunday. A Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crash-landed at Muan International Airport and burst into flames, leaving only two survivors. The ill-fated Flight 2216 was carrying 181 passengers and crew from Thailand to South Korea when it crashed upon arrival. Officials have cited a possible bird strike as the cause of the crash, which resulted in the plane skidding off the runway and exploding after colliding with a wall. Heart-wrenching video footage shows the aircraft landing on its belly, smoke billowing from its engines before the fiery explosion. Passengers were flung from the plane as it disintegrated on impact, with fire officials describing the aircraft as “almost completely destroyed.” A team from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, including experts from Boeing and the Federal Aviation Authority, is set to join South Korean authorities in investigating the tragic incident. Both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder—crucial for determining the crash’s cause—have been recovered. Among the two survivors are flight attendants who were pulled from the wreckage. A 33-year-old male attendant is awake and able to communicate from his hospital bed. “When I woke up, I had already been rescued,” he told doctors. The other survivor, a 25-year-old female crew member, sustained injuries to her ankle and head. As the nation mourns, authorities are working diligently to identify all the victims and provide support to their families. The tragedy has sent shockwaves through South Korea, prompting calls for a thorough investigation to prevent such disasters in the future.
Reference(s):
South Korea grieves after 179 die in its deadliest plane crash
cgtn.com
