Onlookers who witnessed a passenger plane crash at an airport in South Korea have described hearing ‘explosions’ before the aircraft slammed into a concrete wall.
At least 176 people out of a total of 181 on board have now been declared dead in what is South Korea’s worst domestic civil aviation disaster ever, after the 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 jet crash landed at Muan International Airport, about 180 miles south of Seoul.
Footage from the airport showed the plane skidding across the runway before it collided with the wall, where it was later seen engulfed in smoke and flames.
Recovery efforts are ongoing at the time of writing (December 29), and witnesses have now come forward to describe what they saw and heard as the crash took place.
According to the Yonhap News Agency, 41-year-old Yoo Jae-yong was staying at a rental house near the airport when he saw the Jeju Air plane approaching the runway.
He remembered seeing a spark on the plane’s right wing, and recalled: “I was telling my family there was a problem with the plane when I heard a loud explosion.”
Another witness, identified only the name Cho, was out talking a walk a couple of miles away from the airport when he saw the plane making its descent.
“I saw the plane descending and thought it was about to land when I noticed a flash of light,” Cho said to the news agency. “Then there was a loud bang followed by smoke in the air, and then I heard a series of explosions.”
Unusual sounds were also reported by 70-year-old Kim Yong-cheol, who heard the sound of ‘metallic scraping’ twice about five minutes before the crash.
Witnesses reported hearing ‘scraping’ and ‘explosions’ (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
Kim watched the plane struggle to make its initial landing, forcing it to ascend again for a second attempt. He then heard a ‘loud explosion’ and saw ‘black smoke billowing into the sky’.
Officials have shared suspicions that a bird strike may have been the cause of the crash after the airport’s control tower warned the plane of a bird strike.
The plane’s black box has been recovered to provide officials with data relating to the time of the crash, and Senior Transport Ministry official Joo Jong-wan has said that officials are also looking for the cockpit voice recording device.
A total of 181 passengers and crew members were on board the Jeju Air plane when it came in to land at 9.03am local time at Muan Airport, about 180 miles (290km) south of Seoul, after traveling from Bangkok, Thailand today (December 29).
According to local media, the Boeing 737-800 jet was making its second attempt at returning to the ground after its landing gear failed to open, forcing it to make a crash landing.
A number of helicopters as well as 32 firetrucks responded to the incident, along with approximately 1,560 firefighters, police officers, soldiers and other officials.
Rescue workers have been attempting to pull people from the wreckage of the plane and two crew members have been rescued, but firefighters have said that other missing people are now presumed to have been killed.
Those confirmed dead include 79 women, 77 men and 11 others whose genders were not immediately identifiable, though the death toll is expected to rise as the recovery efforts continue.
There were 181 people on board the plane (SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
South Korea’s transport ministry has since stated that the airport’s control tower warned the plane of a bird strike prior to the crash, and gave the pilot permission to land in a different area.
News1 has also reported that a passenger on board texted one of their relatives prior to the crash to say a bird had become stuck in the wing of the plane.
As per the outlet, their last message read: “Should I say my last words?”
Shortly before the plane skidded into the wall, the pilot sent out a distress signal.
Authorities have now retrieved data from the plane’s black box to help offer insight into what happened when the plane went down, Sky News reports. According to Senior Transport Ministry official Joo Jong-wan, officials are still looking for the cockpit voice recording device.
Images from the site show smoke and flames engulfing the plane, which was completely destroyed in the incident. Officials have confirmed the fire has since been extinguished, but Lee Jeong-hyeon, chief of the Muan fire station, said during a televised briefing that the tail of the plane was the only recognizable part of the aircraft after the crash.
