Seoul, Dec 30
All the 179 people aboard a passenger jet that crashed while landing at an airport in southwest South Korea were confirmed dead except only two rescued, multiple media outlets said citing the fire authorities.
The fire authorities on Sunday were quoted as saying that the bodies of 179 victims were retrieved from the scene at 8:38 p.m. local time, with only two crew members being rescued.
It marked the worst air disaster in the country's modern history since 66 people were killed in a plane crash in 1993, news agency reported.
It was reported at about 9:03 a.m. local time that the airplane with 175 passengers, including 173 South Koreans and two Thais, together with six flight attendants on board crashed while attempting to land at the Muan International Airport, some 290 km southwest of the capital Seoul.
The Jeju Air flight 7C2216 from Bangkok, Thailand landed without wheels, skidded off the runway and hit the outer wall of the runway, with its fuselage broken in half and catching fire.
Only two crew members were rescued at the rear of the ill-fated aircraft, most parts of which were severely damaged.
The fire authorities believed that a bird strike that led to landing gear failure may have caused the accident.