A Jeju Air plane carrying 181 people from Bangkok to South Korea crashed on arrival Sunday, colliding with a barrier and bursting into flames, with only two survivors rescued so far and 96 confirmed dead.

A collision with birds and adverse weather conditions were cited by the authorities as likely causes of the crash that flung passengers out of the plane and left it “almost completely destroyed”, according to fire officials.

Video showed the Jeju Air plane landing on its belly without wheels at Muan International Airport, skidding off the runway as smoke streamed out from the engines, before crashing into a wall and exploding in flames.

“Passengers were ejected from the aircraft after it collided with the barrier, leaving little chance of survival,” a local fire official told families at a briefing, according to a statement released by the fire brigade.

“The plane is almost completely destroyed, and identifying the deceased is proving difficult. The process is taking time as we locate and recover the remains,” he was quoted as saying.

“So far, two people rescued — both are flight attendants — 96 dead,” the fire department said, revising an earlier statement that said one of the survivors was a passenger.

A photo showed the tail section of the plane — a Boeing 737-8AS according to Flight Radar — engulfed in flames on what appeared to be the side of the runway, with firefighters and emergency vehicles nearby.

“The cause of the accident is presumed to be a bird strike combined with adverse weather conditions. However, the exact cause will be announced following a joint investigation,” Lee Jeong-hyun, chief of Muan fire station, said during a briefing.

A response team officer at the local fire department, Lee Hyeon-ji said rescue authorities had evacuated passengers from the rear section of the jet.

The Muan International Airport is in Muan county, which is about 288 kilometres (179 miles) southwest of Seoul.

The fire agency said it had mobilised 32 fire engines and scores of fire fighters to the scene.

The accident took place at 9:03 am (0003 GMT) on Sunday during the landing of Jeju Air Flight 2216, the Ministry of Land said.

“A total of 175 passengers — including two Thai nationals — and six crew members were onboard,” it said.

The initial fire was extinguished and a search and rescue operation was “under way at the crash site”, it said in a statement at around 11:00 am local time.

Low-cost carrier Jeju Air apologised and vowed to do all it could to help.

“We at Jeju Air will do everything in our power in response to this accident. We sincerely apologise for causing concern,” the airline said in a statement posted on its social media channels.

– Engulfed in flames –
Acting President Choi Sang-mok called for the mobilisation of all resources to save the passengers.

“All related agencies… must mobilise all available resources to save the personnel,” he instructed officials in a statement.

Choi convened an emergency meeting with cabinet members to discuss rescue operations and response before heading to Muan, his office said.

“I believe no words of consolation would suffice for the bereaved families who have suffered this tragedy,” said Choi, who took office only on Friday.

“The entire government is working closely together to manage the aftermath of the accident, dedicating all available resources, while making every effort to ensure thorough support for the bereaved families,” he added.

It is the first fatal accident in the history of Jeju Air, one of South Korea’s largest low-cost carriers, which was set up in 2005.

On August 12, 2007, a Bombardier Q400 operated by Jeju Air carrying 74 passengers came off the runway due to strong winds at the southern Busan-Gimhae airport, resulting in a dozen injuries.

South Korea’s aviation industry has a solid track record for safety, experts say.

Last year, a passenger opened an emergency exit on an Asiana Airlines flight as it was preparing to land, with the aircraft landing safely but several people hospitalised.

A number of fatal aviation accidents have occurred globally due to bird strikes, which can cause a loss of power if the animals are sucked into the air intakes.

In 2009, a United States Airways Airbus A320 famously landed in New York’s Hudson River after bird strikes on both of its engines, in an incident widely known as the “Miracle on the Hudson” because there was no loss of life.

The Ahmadu Bello University Teaching University (ABUTH) Zaria is set to commence kidney transplant surgeries in 2025 towards bringing relief to patients with kidney failure and reversing medical tourism.

The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Ahmed Umdagas, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Zaria.

Mr Umdagas said the Urology Centre of Excellence would be ready by the first quarter of 2025 to offer high-quality urology services.

“By the first quarter of 2025, ABUTH would commence kidney transplant. What was just holding us back was a few infrastructure.

“Besides that, most of the machines and equipment for kidney transplant were available and our personnel have been adequately trained to offer the services,’’ he said.

Mr Umdagas added that aside from the urology centre, there would also be an Amenity Wing that can take any class of patients.

According to him, the amenity wing will have a single-bed room, a room and parlour for the affluent patients; stressing that ABUTH was determined to offer global-best services.

Mr Umdagas said, “The amenity wing would have a dedicated line and a website; the website will have the profile of doctors in the hospital.

“When a patient wants to see a certain professor or specialist what he will just do is to make a call on the dedicated line or the website to see him seamlessly.”

Similarly, the CMD said a contract had been awarded for the procurement of linear machines to enhance cancer care at the facility.

While speaking on additional efforts to reverse medical tourism, the chief medical director said ABUTH had a fully functional 128 Slice CT Scan machine.

He said, “If you are doing investigation abroad that requires the use of the 128 slice CT Scan, one must pay an amount not lower than $200 which is over N300,000 while ABUTH charges for such service is just N30,000”

The CMD disclosed that many patients were coming to ABUTH to do the scan, take it abroad and continue their treatments.

“We also have 1.5 Tesla MRI and 0.2 Tesla MRI machines which are high imaging machines.

“They are fully functional at the hospital and the cost for such services was far below what is being charged in other places within Nigeria.

“We also do lithotripsy at ABUTH which is breaking stones by laser instead of a surgery,’’ he said.

Mr Umdagas said the hospital had celebrated over five successful IVF cases in collaboration with its partners.

According to him, the hospital plans to build a unit that would house all the necessary equipment for IVF services in its subsequent budgets.

(NAN)