Plane crashes in South Korea, nearly 200 feared dead

At least 85 people were killed after a passenger plane veered off course during landing and crashed into a wall at Muan International Airport in South Korea on Sunday.

The accident happened after Jeju Air flight 7C2216, carrying 175 passengers and six crew members from Bangkok, Thailand, landed in Muan. All but two who were rescued by rescue teams are believed to be dead by officials on the ground.

The authorities in South Korea are investigating whether birds or weather conditions were behind the plane’s deviation from its course.

“The entire government is investing all possible resources to deal with and investigate the crash,” Acting President Choi Sang-mok said. Boeing, the company that manufactured the plane, extended its condolences to the families of the victims.

This is the second plane crash in a few days after last week when an Azerbaijan Airlines plane was apparently shot down by Russian air defenses in Kazakhstan as it was en route to Chechnya. There were 72 passengers on the plane, 38 of whom were killed in the crash.