Portugal Colonial - Plane with 181 on board crashes in South Korea, killing 47

Two people -- one crew and one passenger -- were rescued from the wreckage as part of an ongoing rescue operation, the national fire agency said in a statement.

Video shared by the local MBC broadcaster showed the Jeju Air plane -- a Boeing 737-8AS according to Flight Radar -- landing at the Muan airport runway, with smoke streaming out from the engines, before the entire aircraft was quickly engulfed in flames.

Officials suspect a landing gear failure, possibly due to a bird strike, may have caused the accident. They have begun an on-site investigation to determine the exact cause, the Yonhap news agency reported.

"So far, two rescued and 47 confirmed dead," the National Fire Agency said in a statement, with the rescue operation ongoing.

Lee Hyeon-ji, a response team officer at the local fire department, had earlier warned that "the tally could rise due to the critically injured".

Rescue authorities were evacuating passengers from the rear section of the jet, Lee said.

A photo showed the tail section of the jet engulfed in flames on what appeared to be the side of the runway, with firefighters and emergency vehicles nearby.

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 (1203 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 operations was "under way at the crash site", it said in a statement at around 11:00 am local.

- 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, his office said, adding that he is on his way to Muan.

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.

F.Santana--PC