179 dead in South Korea's 'worst' plane crash

The Jeju Air plane carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea crashed upon arrival Sunday, smashing into a barrier and bursting into flames, killing everyone aboard except for two flight attendants pulled from the wreckage.

Authorities cited a bird strike as the likely cause of the crash — the worst aviation disaster ever on South Korean soil — which flung passengers from the plane and left it "almost completely destroyed," according to fire officials.

Video footage showed the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 landing on its belly at Muan International Airport, skidding off the runway as smoke streamed from the engines before crashing into a wall and exploding in flames.

"Of the 179 dead, 65 have been identified," the country’s fire agency reported, adding that DNA retrieval efforts have begun.

Inside the airport terminal, tearful family members gathered, anxiously waiting for updates.

An official read out the names of the 65 identified victims, each announcement met with fresh cries of grief from the relatives.

Only two people — both flight attendants — survived the crash, the fire department said.

"Passengers were ejected from the aircraft after it collided with the wall, leaving little chance of survival," a local fire official told families during a briefing, as detailed in a fire brigade statement.

"The plane is almost completely destroyed," the official added.

Both black boxes — the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder — were recovered, Deputy Transport Minister Joo Jong-wan confirmed during a briefing.

Under floodlights, rescue workers used a large yellow crane to lift the burned-out fuselage of the orange-and-white aircraft from the runway at Muan, about 180 miles southwest of Seoul.

Bits of plane seats and luggage were scattered across a field near the runway, close to the charred tail section, offering a glimpse of the crash's catastrophic impact.

All passengers on board were Korean nationals except for two Thais, with the youngest victim a three-year-old boy and the oldest a 78-year-old, authorities said.

"I had a son on board that plane," said an elderly man waiting in the airport lounge, who declined to give his name.

"My younger sister went to heaven today," said a 65-year-old woman, identified only by her surname Jo.

The crash unfolded within minutes as Jeju Air Flight 2216 attempted to land. The control tower issued a bird strike warning, followed shortly by the pilot’s “mayday” call.

"It took approximately three minutes from the control tower’s bird strike warning to the aircraft’s attempt to land again," an official said.

Video showed the plane veering off the tarmac and colliding with a wall, though authorities dismissed speculation that runway length was a factor in the crash.

Lee Jeong-hyun, chief of the Muan fire station, said the crash was "presumed to be a bird strike," with exact details pending a full investigation.

Jeju Air, a low-cost carrier, issued a "sincere" apology, with top officials bowing deeply at a press conference in Seoul and pledging full support to the victims’ families.

Boeing stated it was in contact with Jeju Air and stood "ready to support them."

South Korea's acting President Choi Sang-mok, who assumed office Friday, convened an emergency cabinet meeting and visited the crash site at Muan.

"The entire government is working closely together to manage the aftermath of the accident... making every effort to provide thorough support for the bereaved families," he said.

The country declared a seven-day national mourning period beginning Sunday, with memorial altars to be set up nationwide.

This marks the first fatal accident in Jeju Air's history.