At least 47 dead at Muang airport

A plane carrying 181 passengers has crashed at an airport in South Korea, killing at least 47 people, the country’s fire service said.

The plane veered off the runway and crashed into a wall at Muan International Airport in the southwestern part of the country, Yonhap news agency reported.

The Jeju Air plane, which was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members, was reportedly flying back from Bangkok to Thailand and the incident occurred during landing.

Two people have been found alive so far and rescue operations are still ongoing, a fire official told Reuters.

Emergency services were trying to rescue people in the tail section of the plane, an airport official said.

Among the passengers on board are 173 South Koreans and two Thais, Yonhap reports.

The cause of the crash is not yet known, but local media reported it may have been caused by birds getting into the plane’s systems.

Unverified footage uploaded to social media showed the plane skidding off the runway and crashing into a wall before part of it burst into flames.

Other footage shows a large cloud of black smoke rising into the sky.

One flight attendant and one passenger have been rescued so far, South Korea’s fire agency said in a statement, adding that 80 firefighters and more than 30 fire trucks had been dispatched to the crash site.