South Korea plane crash update: Jeju Air jet disaster claims over 170 lives

A Jeju Air Co. jet arriving in South Korea crashed on an airport runway and caught fire, killing or leaving more than 170 people missing. 

Flight 2216 was carrying 175 passengers and 6 crew members from Bangkok when it crashed at Muan International Airport in the country's south, according to officials. While two persons were rescued, 85 were slain, and the rest were missing, according to authorities.

People watch the news regarding Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, which crashed at Muan International Airport in South Korea after skidding off the runway and colliding with a wall.

Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

The catastrophe occurred on Sunday at approximately 9 a.m. local time. According to Yonhap, the landing gear of the Boeing Co. 737-800 airplane malfunctioned, leading it to land on its belly with no wheels deployed. It then collided with a wall at the end of the runway.

The tragedy is expected to be the deadliest passenger aircraft disaster in South Korea in decades, and it occurs against the backdrop of a mounting political crisis in Seoul after the president sparked popular uproar by briefly declaring martial emergency. 

The fire department speculated that the mishap may have been caused by bad weather or bird attacks. According to reports, more than 700 individuals were dispatched to the accident scene to assist in the hunt for survivors. 

Jeju Air, which was founded in 2005, now operates 42 aircraft, according to its website. The corporation promised to offer all required assistance to the victims and their families.

The death toll from the Jeju Air incident would be South Korea's highest since 2002. The Aviation Safety Network reported that an Air China airliner crashed near Busan that year, killing 129 passengers.