A passenger jet crash-landed at an airport in southwestern South Korea on Sunday, leaving at least 85 people dead, according to fire officials.
The aircraft slid down the runway on its belly before b¥rsting into flames.
The Jeju Air flight, 7C 2216, had departed Bangkok with 175 passengers and six crew members on board. It crashed at Muan County Airport around 9 a.m. local time (7 p.m. ET Saturday) after its landing gear malfunctioned, officials confirmed.
Footage aired by South Korean media showed the Boeing 737-800 skidding at high speed, slamming into an embankment, and erupting in a fiery explosion. Firefighters quickly moved in, dousing the wreckage with water cannons. Debris from the plane was scattered across the runway.
The victims include 39 men and 46 women, according to the South Jeolla Fire Service. Rescuers pulled two survivors—both crew members, a man and a woman—from the wreckage. Authorities, however, say there is little hope of finding additional survivors.
