Seoul:  The death toll in the horrific plane crash in South Korea has now reached 179. There were a total of 181 passengers on the plane. Out of these, only 2 people survived. Their condition also remains critical. This accident happened on Sunday at Muan airport in South Korea, when the landing gear of the plane failed while landing and it suddenly collided with the wall fencing. This caused the passenger plane to catch fire. At least 167 people died in this incident. Officials gave this information.

Officials said that this is one of the worst air accidents in the country so far. The country's National Fire Agency said that rescue teams are trying to evacuate people from the 'Jeju Air' passenger plane at this airport in Muan city. There were 181 passengers on board the plane. The Transport Ministry said that the plane was a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 jet, which was returning from Bangkok and the accident happened at 9:03 am local time. The fire agency said that at least 167 people died in the fire incident. According to the agency, the death toll is expected to rise further as the rest of the people on board the plane are still missing even after about six hours of the incident.

The plane became a fireball after the collision

Rescuers rescued two people, who were crew members, safely. Local health officials said they were conscious. The fire agency deployed 32 fire engines and several helicopters to control the fire. According to the agency, about 1,560 firefighters, police officers, soldiers and other officials are also at the scene. Footage broadcast by YTN television showed the Jeju Air plane sliding off the runway and hitting a concrete wall. Videos broadcast by other local TV channels showed black smoke coming out of the plane. Lee Jeong-hyeon, head of the Muan Fire Station, told reporters that the plane was completely destroyed and only the tail assembly could be identified among the debris.

The cause of the accident is being investigated

Lee said workers were investigating various possibilities about the cause of the crash, including the possibility of the plane hitting birds. Transport Ministry officials said their initial assessment of communication records showed the airport's control tower issued a bird hit warning shortly before the plane landed and allowed the pilot to land in a different area. Officials said the pilot had sent a distress signal before the crash. Senior Transport Ministry official Joo Jong-wan said workers had removed the flight data recorder from the plane's black box and were searching for the cockpit voice recording device. Emergency officials in Muan said the plane's landing gear had malfunctioned.