Dozens were killed in South Korea after a plane veered off the runway and caught fire

A passenger plane caught fire on Sunday after running off the runway at an airport in South Korea during a forward landing Officials said the equipment apparently failed to deploy, killing at least 62 people.

The National Fire Agency said the fire had been almost extinguished, but officials were still trying to extract people from the Jeju Air passenger plane, which was carrying 181 people, at the airport in the southern town of Muan.

The agency said at least 62 people were killed in the fire.

Emergency workers pulled out two people – one passenger and one crew member. It said it deployed 32 fire engines and several helicopters to contain the fire.

Footage of the incident broadcast by YTN channel showed the Jeju Air plane sliding across the airstrip and crashing head-on into a concrete wall on the outskirts of the facility. The Ministry of Transport said that the accident occurred at 9:03 am local time.

Emergency officials in Muan said they were investigating the cause of the fire. They added that the plane’s landing gear appeared to have malfunctioned. The Ministry of Transport said that the plane was returning from Bangkok and among its passengers were two Thai citizens.

Local television stations broadcast footage showing the plane on fire and thick pillows of black smoke rising from it.

The incident comes as South Korea is embroiled in a massive political crisis sparked by then-President Yeon Suk-Yul’s stunning imposition of martial law and subsequent isolation. South Korean lawmakers on Friday impeached acting President Han Dak-soo and suspended his duties, forcing Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok to take office.

Choi ordered officials to use all available resources to rescue passengers and crew, Yonhap News Agency reported. Yoon’s office said his chief secretary, Chung Jin-sook, would chair an emergency meeting of senior presidential staff later on Sunday to discuss the incident.