Recovery work ongoing after South Korean airplane crashes in failed landing

Recovery work is ongoing after an airplane carrying 181 people crashed in a failed landing attempt and erupted in flames at an airport in Muan in the southwest of South Korea on Sunday morning.

The Jeju Air flight 7C2216, which was traveling from Bangkok, Thailand, veered off the runway and crashed into an outer wall at the Muan International Airport at around 09:07 local time, prompting a huge explosion which saw the the plane engulfed in fire and left the fuselage destroyed.

At least 167 fatalities have been confirmed so far as the death toll continues to rise.

The chief of the Muan fire department said in a televised press briefing on Sunday that most of the 181 people on board were presumed dead aside from two crew members who had been rescued -- a 33-year-old male and a 25-year-old female -- noting there was little chance of any remaining survivors being found.

The passenger plane had been carrying 173 South Korean and two Thai passengers, as well as six crew members. According to authorities, it would take time to recover and identify the bodies as the fuselage was severely destroyed.

South Korea's transport ministry said that its investigation unit had secured both of the two black boxes from the crashed passenger jet. An official with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a press briefing that both flight data and voice recorder devices had been retrieved from the wreckage.

Authorities believe the incident may have been caused by a bird strike that led to landing gear failure, according to South Korean media reports.

The Yonhap News Agency reported that after an unsuccessful first landing attempt due to the malfunctioning landing gear, the aircraft went around again, and made a second attempt with a belly-landing that resulted in the crash into the wall after the plane was seen skidding off the runway. The fire was initially extinguished some 43 minutes after the crash occurred, with about 80 firefighters and helicopters being dispatched to the scene. South Korea's Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, who has now became acting president following the impeachments of president Yoon Suk-yeol and prime minister Han Duck-soo, ordered relevant officials to make all-out efforts and mobilize all available equipment and manpower, while declaring Muan County as a special disaster zone.

Recovery work ongoing after South Korean airplane crashes in failed landing

Recovery work ongoing after South Korean airplane crashes in failed landing

Recovery work ongoing after South Korean airplane crashes in failed landing

Recovery work ongoing after South Korean airplane crashes in failed landing

Recovery work ongoing after South Korean airplane crashes in failed landing

Rescue work ongoing after South Korean airplane crashes in failed landing

China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao outlined the key priorities of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, which opened on Friday in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province.

In an interview with CGTN ahead of the two-day meeting, Wang said free trade, digital cooperation and green economy are high on the agenda of the meeting.

"The key areas include advancing regional economic integration and the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, supporting the World Trade Organization (WTO) in strengthening digital cooperation and developing green economy. At present, the international situation is marked by intertwined turbulence and chaos, with intensified geopolitical instability. The rise of unilateralism and protectionism poses serious challenges to the international economic and trade order, disrupting global and Asia-Pacific development. Against this backdrop, all parties have higher expectations for this trade ministers' meeting, hoping that it can build consensus and deliver outcomes," Wang said.

This year marks China's third time hosting the APEC meetings and the 35th anniversary of its membership.

By 2025, China had become the largest trading partner of 13 APEC economies. Trade between China and APEC economies reached 3.7 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for 57.8 percent of China's total foreign trade.

China has signed 24 free trade agreements or economic and trade arrangements with 31 countries and regions, including 15 APEC economies. In recent years, China has also completed upgrades of free trade agreements with APEC economies such as Singapore and Peru.

The minister said that China has always been a firm supporter and an important contributor to APEC.

"We have actively shared our vast market and development opportunities with all parties. China's door to the world will only open wider and wider. Facing the common challenges, China will continue to fulfill its responsibilities as a major country, further deepen reform, expand high-standard opening-up, and continue to provide new opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region and the world with its new achievements in Chinese modernization," the minister said.

China's Commerce Minister outlines priorities for 32nd APEC trade ministers' meeting