More than 120 people have been killed in South Korea's deadliest plane disaster in decades

At least 124 people were killed when an airliner landed without wheels, veering off the runway and erupting in a fireball as it slammed into a wall at South Korea's Muan International Airport on Sunday, the national fire agency said.

Jeju Air 089590.KS flight 7C2216, arriving from the Thai capital Bangkok with 181 people on board, was attempting to land shortly after 9 am (local time) at the airport in the south of the country, South Korea's transport ministry said.

It is the deadliest air accident involving a South Korean airline in nearly three decades, according to ministry data.

A rescue team prepares to work at Muan International Airport. Source: AP / Maeng Dae-hwan The twin-engine Boeing 737-800 can be seen in video from local media skidding down the runway with no apparent landing gear before slamming into a wall in an explosion of flame and debris. Other photos showed smoke and fire engulfing parts of the plane.

Two crew members, a man and a woman, were rescued from the tail section of the burning plane, Muan fire chief Lee Jung-hyun told a briefing. The fire was extinguished as of 1pm (local time), Lee said.

"Only the tail part retains a little bit of shape, and the rest of (the plane) looks almost impossible to recognise," he said.

Fire crews and rescue workers rushed to the crash scene at South Korea's Muan International Airport. Source: AP / Maeng Dae-hwan Authorities have switched from rescue to recovery operations and because of the force of the impact, are searching nearby areas for bodies possibly thrown from the plane, Lee added.

The two crew were being treated at hospitals with medium to severe injuries, said the head of the local public health centre.

Hours after the crash, mortuary vehicles were lined up to take bodies away, and authorities said a temporary morgue had been established.

The crash site smelled of aviation fuel and blood, according to Reuters witnesses, and workers in protective suits and masks combed the area while soldiers searched through bushes.

Yonhap news agency cited a fire official as saying most of 175 passengers and six crew were presumed dead.

Authorities had worked to rescue people in the tail section, an airport official told Reuters shortly after the crash.

The crash is the worst by any South Korean airline since a 1997 Korean Air crash in Guam that killed more than 200 people, according to transportation ministry data.

What caused the Jeju Air crash?

Investigators are looking into bird strikes and weather conditions as possible factors, Lee said. Yonhap cited airport authorities as saying a bird strike may have caused the landing gear to malfunction.

"The cause of the accident is presumed to be a bird strike combined with adverse weather conditions. However, the exact cause will be announced following a joint investigation," Lee Jeong-hyun, chief of Muan fire station, said during a briefing.

A photo showed the tail section of the jet engulfed in flames on what appeared to be the side of the runway, with firefighters and emergency vehicles nearby.

A passenger rescued from a plane crash at Muan International Airport is transported to a nearby hospital. Source: EPA / Yonhap Acting President Choi Sang-mok called for the mobilisation of all resources to save the passengers.

"I believe no words of consolation would suffice for the bereaved families who have suffered this tragedy," said Choi.

"The entire government is working closely together to manage the aftermath of the accident, dedicating all available resources, while making every effort to ensure thorough support for the bereaved families," he added.

A Jeju Air plane drove off runway and crashed at Muan International Airport in South Korea. Source: AP / Maeng Dae-hwan It is the first fatal accident in the history of Jeju Air, one of South Korea's largest low-cost carriers, which was set up in 2005.

Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae apologised for the accident, bowing deeply during a televised briefing.

He said the cause of the crash was still unknown, that the aircraft had no record of accidents and there were no early signs of malfunction. The airline will cooperate with investigators and make supporting the bereaved its top priority, Kim said.

On 12 August 2007, a Bombardier Q400 operated by Jeju Air carrying 74 passengers came off the runway due to strong winds at the southern Busan-Gimhae airport, resulting in a dozen injuries.

South Korea's aviation industry has a solid track record for safety, experts say.