SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- At least 28 people were killed and three others were rescued in an airplane crash that occurred on Sunday at an airport in the southwest of South Korea, according to multiple media outlets.

The passenger plane with 175 passengers, including 173 South Koreans and two Thais, as well as six crew members aboard, crashed while attempting to land at the Muan International Airport, around 290 km southwest of the capital Seoul, at about 9:07 a.m. local time (0007 GMT).

Twenty-eight people were confirmed dead, with three more rescued. Rescue operations were underway to determine additional possible casualties.

The Jeju Air flight 7C2216 from Bangkok, Thailand veered off the runway and crashed into the outer wall of the runway, with its fuselage destroyed in half and catching fire.

The accident was presumed to have been caused by a bird strike that led to landing gear failure.

After making the first landing attempt, the aircraft went around into the air due to the estimated malfunctioning of landing gear and made the second landing attempt with a belly-landing that resulted in the crash into the wall.

The fire was initially extinguished some 43 minutes later, with about 80 firefighters and helicopters being dispatched to the scene.

Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, who became an acting president following the impeachments of both President Yoon Suk-yeol and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, ordered relevant high-ranking officials to make all-out efforts by mobilizing all available equipment and manpower to save lives.

Choi, who doubles as deputy prime minister for economic affairs, stressed that special attention should be paid to prevent rescuers from suffering additional accidents during the rescue operations.

After giving those orders, Choi departed for the scene of the accident. Enditem

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