The Jeju Air plane from Bangkok attempted a belly landing at Muan International Airport after its landing gear reportedly failed to deploy.
The passenger plane burst into flames on Sunday at nine in the morning after it skidded off the runway and slammed into a concrete fence when its front landing gear apparently failed to deploy.
All but two of the 181 people on board died in what was one of the country’s worst aviation disasters, the South Korean fire agency said. Four of the dead were crew members, the rest passengers.
Emergency workers pulled two people, both crew members, to safety. Health officials said they are conscious and not in life-threatening condition.
The Jeju Air passenger plane crashed while landing in the town of Muan, about 290 kilometres south of the capital Seoul. The Transport Ministry said the plane was a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 jet that was returning from Bangkok.