After a suspected bird strike, a plane carrying 181 people crashes in South Korea; nearly all are thought to be dead.

The moment the aircraft carrying 181 people went off the runway and crashed, exploding in flames, is captured on South Korean television.

.      Pic: Reuters

At least 151 passengers were killed when a passenger jet carrying 181 people crashed in South Korea.

According to firefighting authorities, all other missing persons are now assumed to have been dead, notwithstanding the rescue of two crew members.

The Jeonnam Fire Department reports that 22 people have been identified thus far.

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At Muan International Airport, the plane veered off a runway, smashed into a wall, and exploded into flames. Rescuers are working to rescue individuals from the debris.

According to the fire agency, around 1,560 firefighters, police officers, troops, and other officials were dispatched to the scene, and 32 fire engines and multiple aircraft were used to put out the fire.

Real-time updates: plane disaster in South Korea

    Firefighters and rescue teams work in the aftermath of the crash. Pic: Lee Young-ju/Newsis/AP

According to local media, the Boeing 737-800 aircraft, carrying 175 passengers and six crew members, was attempting a second crash landing after its landing gear failed to open.

According to officials, the failure might have been brought on by a collision with a bird, according to Yonhap News Agency.

According to South Korea's transport ministry, the pilot was granted permission to land in a different area after the airport's control tower alerted the aircraft to the bird strike before to the tragedy.

Officials reported that just before the plane slipped across a buffer zone and struck the wall, the pilot put out a distress call.

According to Senior Transport Ministry official Joo Jong-wan, workers have now recovered the flight data recorder from the aircraft's black box and are continuing searching for the voice recording device in the cockpit.

According to News1, a traveller contacted a family member to inform them that a bird had been lodged in the plane's wing.

Their parting message was delivered, "Should I say my last words?" and has been questioned.

The weather was also being investigated as a possible contributing factor to the collision.

According to South Korean news agency Newsis, the majority of the people on board the Jeju Air aircraft were vacationers returning from a five-day Christmas package tour to Bangkok.

The plane skidded off the runway without its landing gear deployed, and footage shown by YTN television captured the moment it crashed into the airport wall and caught fire.

Additional images released by local media revealed that a large portion of the aircraft was engulfed in smoke and flames.

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Rescue crews were looking for bodies that had been dispersed by the crash's impact, according to Lee Jeong-Hyeon, chief of the Muan Fire Station.

According to him, the plane was totally destroyed, and the only part of the debris that could be identified was the tail.

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