SEOUL — A Jeju Air passenger plane burst into flames on Sunday after skidding off the runway at Muan Airport in South Korea, crashing into a concrete wall.

The accident, caused by an apparent failure of the front landing gear to deploy, claimed 177 lives out of the 181 people on board, making it one of the deadliest aviation disasters in South Korea's history.

The Boeing 737-800 jet, a 15-year-old aircraft, was returning from Bangkok and attempted to land in Muan, about 290 kilometers (180 miles) south of Seoul, at 9:03 a.m.

Two crew members were rescued and remain in stable condition, while two passengers are still unaccounted for.

Footage aired by South Korean television showed the plane skidding across the runway at high speed before crashing into a concrete wall, triggering a massive explosion.

Thick black smoke engulfed the wreckage, with only the tail section of the plane recognizable.

Over 1,500 emergency responders, including firefighters, police officers, and military personnel, worked to extinguish the fire and recover victims.

A total of 32 fire trucks and several helicopters were deployed to the crash site.

The South Korean Transport Ministry confirmed that the airport’s control tower had issued a bird strike warning to the pilot and cleared the plane to land in an alternative area.

However, the plane’s front landing gear failed to deploy, causing it to overrun the runway and collide with the wall.

Officials recovered the black box and cockpit voice recorders, which will be analyzed to determine the exact cause of the crash.

Transport Ministry official Joo Jong-wan noted that the investigation could take months to complete.

Jeju Air President Kim E-bae apologized to the victims' families, stating that the aircraft had undergone regular maintenance without any reported mechanical issues.

Boeing, the manufacturer of the aircraft, issued a statement expressing condolences and offering support to Jeju Air.

Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra also extended sympathies to the victims and pledged assistance for the Thai nationals onboard.

Sunday’s crash is South Korea’s worst aviation disaster since 1997, when a Korean Airlines flight crashed in Guam, killing 228 people.

It also marks one of the deadliest landing mishaps globally since similar incidents in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2007 and Mangalore, India, in 2010.

The crash occurred amid a political crisis in South Korea following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law and subsequent impeachment. Acting President Han Duck-soo was suspended, leaving Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok to oversee the country’s response to the crash.

Choi ordered an all-out rescue effort and traveled to Muan to coordinate operations, while Yoon’s office announced an emergency meeting to address the disaster. — Agencies