TEHRAN – Tehran has extended heartfelt condolences to South Korea and Thailand after a devastating plane crash in South Korea claimed the lives of 179 people.

The tragic accident occurred when a passenger aircraft skidded off the runway and caught fire upon landing at Muan International Airport, southwest of Seoul.  

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baqaei, issued a statement on Sunday expressing profound sympathy to the governments and people of South Korea and Thailand. Baqaei specifically addressed the families of the victims, offering prayers for those who lost their lives and wishing a swift recovery to the injured.  

The Jeju Air flight, departed from Bangkok and was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members. According to South Korea’s National Fire Agency, the Boeing 737-800 jet crashed at 9:03 a.m. local time (0003 GMT) as it attempted to land at Muan International Airport. Among those on board, two were identified as Thai nationals, while the remainder were believed to be South Korean.  

In the aftermath of the crash, authorities reported that only two individuals, both crew members, were rescued alive from the tail section of the burning plane. 

“Only the tail part retains a little bit of shape, and the rest of the plane is almost unrecognizable,” Muan Fire Chief Lee Jung-hyun told reporters during a briefing. 

Initial investigations suggest the crash may have been caused by bird strikes that led to a malfunction in the plane’s landing gear during its descent. South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that authorities are continuing to investigate the exact circumstances of the disaster.  

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