At least 122 people have died after a South Korean airliner crashed at an airport

Dozens of people were killed Sunday when a passenger plane crashed at an airport in southwestern South Korea, the plane headed for the runway on its belly before bursting into flames.

At least 122 people have been confirmed dead so far, according to the local fire department. Two people, both workers, were pulled out alive from the crash site but rescuers warned that there was little hope of finding other survivors.

Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 from Bangkok was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members when disaster struck at the airport in Muan County, shortly after 9 a.m. local time Sunday (7 p.m. ET Saturday). The accident was caused by a malfunction of the landing gear, officials said.

Footage of Sunday's crash broadcast by several South Korean media showed the plane skidding on its belly at high speed, hitting an earthen fence and bursting into flames.

Neither the rear nor the front landing gear could be seen in the footage – broadcast by networks including YTN, JTBC and MBC – as smoke poured from the back of the glider.

Firefighters were later seen using water cannons to extinguish the debris from the plane, which was listed as a Boeing 737-800 on FlightAware's flight tracking site. Several parts of the plane were also seen littering the runway.

The victims include 54 men, 57 women, and 11 people whose gender has not been determined, according to the South Jeolla Fire Service. Both survivors were workers, one male and one female, according to the rescue team.

Two Thai nationals were among those on board, according to South Korea's Land Ministry, which said the National Incident Investigation Committee police arrived to investigate what caused the accident.

Rescuers will seek data records of the “black box” flight after finding the remains, the Department of Transportation said at a briefing. Recorders provide aviation safety investigators with important facts when piecing together what happened after an incident.

More than 700 police, military and coast guard personnel have been mobilized for response efforts at the site, the department said.

Boeing expressed its condolences to those who lost their relatives in the accident.

“We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding Flight 2216 and are ready to support them,” Boeing said in a brief statement posted on its X account.

“We offer our condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones and our thoughts are with the passengers and crew,” the company added.

The US airline giant has had a difficult time in recent years, including two 737 Max crashes, a tragedy in which the company has agreed to plead guilty to defrauding the Federal Aviation Administration during the aircraft's approval process.

However, analysts have described the Boeing 737-800 as a reliable workhorse in the sky with an extremely strong safety record.

A Jeju Air chief executive said the plane was showing “no signs of trouble” before Sunday's crash.

“Currently, it is difficult to determine the cause of the accident, and we have to wait for the official announcement of the investigation by the relevant government department,” Kim Yi-bae said during a press conference at the airport.

The acting president of South Korea, Choi Sang-mok, arrived at the scene of the accident in the afternoon. Choi had earlier ordered emergency services to mobilize all “all available equipment” and personnel to respond to the accident, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior and Security.

The tragedy comes just two days into Choi's tenure, the latest chapter in a period of political turmoil in South Korea.

The country's current President, Yoon Suk Yeol, was stripped of his parliamentary powers two weeks ago following a military order that plunged the country into a political crisis. He is currently suspended while the high court decides on his future.

Han Duck-soo, the man who replaced Yoon as acting president, was impeached in parliament on Friday, meaning Choi – the finance minister and deputy prime minister – stepped in.

Sunday's crash is “extremely strange” given that the plane and the carrier have a strong safety record and flying conditions were excellent, an aviation journalist said.

The Boeing 737-800 is one of the most used aircraft in the world and each one is used for four or five flights a day, Geoffrey Thomas, editor of Airline News, told CNN's Paula Newton.

“It is the most reliable aircraft in the world, and it has been in operation for 20 years,” he said. “Everyone knows how it works. And it works really, really well. And the repair is done internally [South] Korea is as beautiful as it gets in the world. “

South Korean fire officials said there may have been a malfunction of the landing gear and images showed the plane sliding on its belly.

“It is not clear whether the undercarriage collapsed when it arrived or not or whether the undercarriage was not installed at all. This is a serious matter that the investigators will obviously focus on,” said Thomas.

He added that it was “strange” that the accident happened, as it landed in a dry and sunny location at a beautiful airport.

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