UPDATE - 28 dead in South Korean plane crash at Muan airport

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS ABOUT INCIDENT, CHANGES SOURCE, SPOT AND LEDE

By Merve Berker

A plane crash at South Korea’s Musan International Airport killed at least 28 people, media reports said Sunday.

*** A Jeju Air flight carrying 181 passengers and six crew, caught fire during landing after reportedly experiencing landing gear issues around 9.07 a.m. local time in the Muan county, which is about 288 kilometers (nearly 179 miles) southwest of the South Korean capital Seoul, according to the Yonhap News Agency (YNA).

The twin-engine aircraft, returning from Bangkok, veered off the runway and collided with a fence before slamming into a wall in a fiery explosion.

Footage by local media showed the plane skidding down the runway, engulfed in flames and debris.

*** Two survivors were found in the tail section of the place as rescue efforts continued though authorities said that the number of casualties will most probably keep increasing.

*** The majority of the passengers were Koreans in addition with two Thai nationals.

An airport official said authorities were focusing on rescuing those trapped in the wreckage.

South Korea’s acting President Choi Sung-mok ordered "all-out rescue efforts" in response.

Choi, who assumed interim leadership amid a political crisis, convened an emergency meeting to oversee the response.

*** Jeju Air said upon the incident that it is "checking reports of the accident."

The crash marks one of the deadliest aviation accidents in South Korea in recent years.

*** Initial fire was extinguished and investigations into the cause are underway to determine the definite cause.