The death toll in a South Korean plane crash has risen to 179, with all but two people on board killed, according to The New York Times, citing Muan International Airport fire officials.
According to the Times, all passengers and crew members were accounted for as of Sunday evening local time, following the recovery of two survivors from the wreckage earlier Sunday.
A Boeing 737-800 operated by South Korea’s Jeju Air flew from Bangkok, Thailand, to Muan International Airport around 9 a.m. local time on Sunday.
According to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport held a briefing on Sunday afternoon and reported that the control tower had warned of birds in the area shortly before landing. The pilot then requested a “mayday” signal, and the plane went up in flames a few moments later.
“It’s assumed to have been a bird strike. According to Yonhap, one surviving crew member stated in a witness report that smoke came from one of the engines before it exploded.
Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 carried 181 people, including 175 passengers, 4 flight attendants, and two pilots. According to Yonhap, the two survivors were crew members who were rescued from the plane’s back during the initial search.
On Sunday, family and loved ones of flight passengers flooded the airport, waiting for answers.
