Warning: This article contains graphic images, video and description which some readers may find distressing
A passenger onboard the flight that crashed in South Korea sent a heartbreaking message moments before the fatal accident.
It has been confirmed that 179 out of a total of 181 people on board the Jeju Air Flight 2216 have been declared dead in what is South Korea’s worst domestic civil aviation disaster ever.
A 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 jet crash landed at Muan International Airport, about 180 miles south of Seoul, at around 9:03am local time on Sunday (December 29).
While it is not clear exactly what happened to cause the incident, it’s reported that the front landing gear of the plane failed to deploy, forcing the pilot to make a crash landing.
Footage from the airport showed the plane skidding across the runway without its landing gear open before it collided with the wall and burst into flames.
Director of the Aviation Policy Division at South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Joo Jong-wan said, as per NBC News, that the pilot ‘declared mayday after issuing the bird strike alert’.
It is also reported that the pilot was cleared to land from the opposite direction.
All of the plane’s 175 passengers died in the crash, along with four members of crew.
Two flight staff have survived the incident and are in hospital being treated for their injuries. It is reported that they are conscious.
The crash occurred at around 9:03am local time on December 29 (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
“I woke up and was rescued,” one of the survivors, named Lee, has said, according to the director of Seoul National University Hospital, where he is being treated.
According to local media in South Korea, one passenger onboard the flight sent a text to a family member, where they claimed a bird was ‘stuck in the wing’ which was supposedly stopping the plane from landing.
“Should I leave my last words,” the passenger allegedly wrote. After this message, the relative said that they did not hear from the passenger again.
Devastated family members have been speaking out following the crash.
Maeng Gi-su’s nephew and his nephew’s two sons had been onboard the flight, returning from a holiday in celebration of the youngest son’s college entrance exams being over.
Investigations into the crash are still ongoing (Chris Jung/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The 78-year-old told the BBC: “I can’t believe the entire family has just disappeared. My heart aches so much.”
A cousin of another passenger onboard the flight told the BBC that she had ‘goosebumps’ when she heard of the crash.
“I couldn’t believe it… when the news said one of the victims was from Udon Thani, I was even more surprised.” she said.
The government of South Korea has announced a national mourning period of seven days.
Jeju Air has a black banner at the top of its website which reads: “We deeply apologize to all those affected by the incident. We will make every effort to resolve the situation
Footage caught at an airport in South Korea shows the moments leading up to a plane crash which killed an estimated 167 people.
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.
As the plane approached the ground, it veered off the runway and crashed into a concrete wall before bursting into flames.
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?”
A plane with 181 people on board has crashed in South Korea. The first footage from the site of the Jeju Air Flight 2216 crash in South Korea shows 181 people on board, with 23 fatalities reported so far.
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
A video from inside the Azerbaijan plane that crash landed yesterday has shown a man’s ‘final’ message to his wife.
Multiple authorities have launched an investigation after a passenger plane crash landed off the coast of Caspian Sea on Christmas day.
Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane was carrying citizens from four different countries as it traveled from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to Grozny, capital of the Chechnya region in southern Russia.
Kazakh officials have said there were 42 Azerbaijani citizens,16 Russian citizens, 6 Kazakh citizens, 3 Kyrgyz citizens on board.
The man is heard praying as the plane descends (BNO News Live)
38 of those on board have died, while 32 people have survived, including two children. However, many are in serious conditions in hospital.
Video footage of the actual crash has begun to circulate on social media and shows the plane descend rapidly and become an inferno on the ground.
However, another video has begun doing the rounds, reportedly showing a final video a passenger sent to his wife moments before the crash.
According to a Mail Online report, the passenger was identified as Subkhon Rakhimov.
He began filming when he realized the plane was losing altitude. In the video, the oxygen masks are also seen down for some of the passengers, with many others heard panicking and crying.
Rakhimov was also heard praying as he repeatedly flipped the camera on his face and to the chaos on the plane.
Miraculously, he is thought to have survived the crash and is now being treated for a wound to his face.
Many people on Twitter couldn’t believe the good fortune of the Rakhimov to survive such a brutal plane crash.
“She got one hell of a Christmas miracle,” one user said, speaking of the passenger’s wife.
Another commented: “You can hear the panic in her voice so sad. The crew member is asking everyone to sit and put on the seatbelt and that everything will be fine
A third wrote: “This was heartbreaking to watch all those passengers in front I’m surprised how calm everyone seemed.”
The remains unclear what caused the fatal crash (Issa Tazhenbayev/Anadolu via Getty Images)
While another commented: “I’m so happy with this great news. My condolences to those who lost their lives during this devastating [incident].”
Speaking of the incident, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev warned against speculation at this time as investigations are still in the early stages.
He said: “There are videos of the plane crash available in the media and on social networks, and everyone can watch them. However, the reasons for the crash are not yet known to us.
“There are various theories, but I believe it is premature to discuss them.
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.
The incident took place at 9.03am local time after the front landing gear of the plane apparently failed to deploy, forcing the pilot to make a crash landing.
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 tower also gave the plane’s pilot permission to land in a different area.
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
