SEOUL - Two Thai nationals were among the 175 passengers, as well as six crew members, on board the airliner that crashed on Sunday at South Korea's Muan International Airport, South Korea's Transport Ministry said.
"So far two rescued, 120 confirmed dead," the National Fire Agency said in a statement, with the search and rescue operation ongoing. Officials later updated the death toll to 179, including the two Thais.
The airliner went off the runway and slammed into a wall at South Korea's Muan International Airport on Sunday, Yonhap news agency reported.
The accident occurred as Jeju Air flight 7C2216, carrying 175 passengers and six crew on a flight from Bangkok, was landing at the airport in the south of the country, the report said.
Two people were found alive and rescue operations were still underway, a Muan fire official said.
Authorities were working to rescue people in the tail section, an airport official told Reuters.
South Korea's Transport Ministry said the airport's control tower sent a warning of a bird strike to the plane just before the crash.
Video shared by local media showed the twin-engine aircraft skidding down the runway with no apparent landing gear before slamming into a wall in an explosion of flame and debris. Other photos showed smoke and fire engulfing parts of the plane.
Aviation tracking site FlightRadar24 said the aircraft appeared to be a Boeing 737-800.
Boeing offered condolences and said it is in touch with South Korea's Jeju Air. The crash involved a Boeing-made 737-800, according to Jeju Air.
The CEO of South Korean airline Jeju Air apologised to the victims of Sunday's plane crash that has killed at least 85 people.
In a short media briefing, CEO Kim E-bae said that supporting the bereaved was a top priority for now.
The US Federal Aviation Administration did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
South Korean acting President Choi Sang-mok, who was named interim leader of the country on Friday after the previous acting president was impeached amid an ongoing political crisis, ordered all-out rescue efforts, his office said.
His chief of staff convened an emergency meeting.
Investigators were looking into the cause of the crash, the ministry said in a statement.
