Anchor: A passenger jet carrying 181 people crashed Sunday morning while landing at Muan International Airport in South Korea’s southwestern region. A total of 179 are confirmed dead, while only two people were rescued from the tail section of the plane. Investigators say the pilot issued a mayday distress call, mentioning a bird strike, shortly before the crash-landing.
Kim Bum-soo has more. 

Report: A Jeju Air plane carrying 175 passengers and six crew members crash-landed at Muan International Airport in South Korea shortly after 9 a.m. Sunday and collided with a concrete wall after skidding off the runway.

The impact caused the aircraft to burst into flames, killing 179 of the people aboard flight 7C 2216, according to the transportation ministry. 

Only two flight attendants were rescued from the separated tail section of the plane. Many victims were thrown out of the broken fuselage, according to rescue authorities. 

Government investigators say the Jeju Air plane attempted a belly landing when its landing gear failed to deploy after a bird strike.
 
[Sound bite: Kang Jung-hyun - Head of Flights Standards Division, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Korean-English)]
“At 08:57, the control tower warned the plane to watch out for bird activity. More specifically, the tower said, ‘Caution: bird activity.’ At 08:59, the pilot issued a mayday distress call due to a bird strike and conveyed the intent to go around. The pilot declared, ‘Mayday, mayday, mayday!’ three times. The pilot also said, ‘Bird strike, bird strike, going around.’”

Investigators said the Jeju Air flight was initially cleared to land on runway No. 1 at 8:54 a.m. but received a bird strike warning from the control tower three minutes later. 

Just two minutes after the warning, the pilot reportedly issued a mayday distress call, mentioning a bird strike.
 
The ministry said the Boeing 737-800 turned around near the runway’s midpoint and approached in the direction of the opposite runway, No. 19. 

The plane was cleared to land on runway No. 19 at 9:01 a.m. and entered the runway a minute later, but veered off course and collided with the airport’s wall at 9:03 a.m. after touching down at the one-third point along the runway.

Severe damage to the victims’ bodies has delayed their return to their families. 

The remains of 146 of the 179 people killed have been identified as of Monday afternoon.

Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 departed from Bangkok carrying 173 South Korean passengers, two Thai passengers and six crew members.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.