• Nigeria condoles with South Korea over 179 deaths
• Weather causes disruption of flights at UK airports
Two planes crashed in different parts of the world yesterday.
The unusual situation claimed no fewer than 180 lives.
The crashes occurred in South Korea and Australia.
The South Korean accident was the worst in which 179 died.
There were two survivors on the plane carrying 181 passengers.
The Jeju Air plane crashed-landed on its belly, caught fire and skidded off the runway at Muan International Airport in South Korea.
The accident is described as one of the country’s worst aviation disasters.
The accident occurred yesterday as the Jeju Air flight, carrying 175 passengers and six crew from the Thai capital Bangkok, landed at Muan International Airport about 290km (180 miles) Southwest of the capital, Seoul.
The South Korean National Fire Agency confirmed that of the 179 people who died, 85 were women, 84 were men and 10 others whose genders were not immediately identifiable were also killed.
Two people were fortunate to have survived with critical injuries.
Five children all aged fewer than 10, including a three-year-old boy, are the youngest victims of the horror plane crash.
The crash is believed to have been caused by “contact with birds, resulting in malfunctioning landing gear” as the plane attempted to land at the airport.
“Images which have been on the media here do appear to show the plane landing on its belly, skidding along the runway, followed then by a huge explosion,” the report stated.
The report added that only 65 victims out of 179 have so far been identified because of the huge fire on the plane.
The South Korean Government has declared seven days of national mourning over the plane crash.
The plane, a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 jet, was reported to be carrying two Thai passengers and the rest were believed to be South Koreans.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has expressed deep condolences to the families of the crash victims.
Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been ordered to investigate if Thai passengers were on the plane and to provide “assistance immediately.”
South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok ordered “all-out efforts for rescue operations” at Muan Airport.
Jeju Air, one of South Korea’s largest low-cost carriers, set up in 2005 issued an apology for the crash, saying it would “do everything in our power in response to this accident.”
The crash is the first fatal accident for Jeju Air, though in August 2007, a Bombardier Q400 operated by the airline and carrying 74 passengers came off the runway due to strong winds at the Southern Busan Gimhae Airport, resulting in a dozen injuries.
The incident came as South Korea is embroiled in a huge political crisis triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s stunning imposition of martial law and ensuing impeachment.
The Jeju Air flight was returning from Bangkok.
Jeju Air chief executive Kim E-Bae said the airline extended its deepest condolences and apologies to those affected.
“Currently, the exact cause of the accident has yet to be determined, and we must wait for the official investigation by government agencies,” Kim said in a statement.
“Regardless of the cause, I take full responsibility as the chief executive,” he stated.
In New South Wales, Australia, one person died and another is fighting for life in hospital after a light plane crash near Yamba, on New South Wales North Coast.
In a statement, NSW Police said the aircraft was taking off from a private airfield on Palmer’s Island when it crashed.
Only two people were on board at the time.
Rescue operators rushed to the airfield to find the pilot, believed to be a man in his 60s, dead at the scene.
A spokesperson for NSW Ambulance said that the other occupant, a man believed to be in his 30s, was treated for “significant head, spinal and arm injuries.”
In Canada, an Air Canada plane skidded off the runway at Halifax Stanfield Airport and caught fire.
The Air Canada aeroplane veered off the runway at Halifax Stanfield International Airport with a broken landing gear.
According to reports, the aircraft skidded down the runway and caught fire after touching down with broken landing gear.
The aircraft, operating as flight AC2259 and run by PAL Airlines, was said to be arriving from St. John’s when it experienced a significant malfunction during landing.
Although there were no fatalities recorded, this marks the third aviation incident in one day.
Also, KLM Airlines’ Boeing 737-800 made an emergency landing at Oslo Torp Sandefjord Airport in Norway, after a hydraulic failure forced the aircraft to divert.
The plane, which was carrying 176 passengers and six crew members, landed safely but skidded off runway 18 during the rollout and came to a stop in the grass near a taxiway.
The cause of the incidents was still being investigated.
Meanwhile, flights have been cancelled and delayed at the United Kingdom’s busiest airports due to heavy fog.
Flights at Stansted Airport were reportedly affected by the weather conditions on Saturday and yesterday. There were also delays at Heathrow, Luton and Manchester Airports.
The Federal Government commiserated with South Korea and others affected by crash incidents yesterday.
It expressed its condolences to the Government and People of the Republic of Korea, Canada, Norway and Australia.
A statement by the Acting Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, stated that Nigeria sympathises with the Government of South Korea and the families of the victims of the plane crash.
The statement reads in part: “The Federal Republic of Nigeria wishes to express her sincere condolences to the Government and People of the Republic of Korea and other countries affected by the unfortunate crashes yesterday.”
