this is the scene right now at muan airport — the emergency services are sifting through the wreckage of the plane. the new president of georgia — mikheil kavelashvili — has been sworn in, against a background of protests against his governing georgian dream party. we start with developing news from south korea. a plane has crashed on landing at an airport in the country, and at least 167 people have been killed. the boeing 737 belonging tojeju airlines had 181 people on board, and officials say they expect most are dead. they say some passengers fell out of the fuselage during the crash. two survivors have been found. these are the dramatic pictures of the holiday plane skidding down the runway before hitting a wall and bursting into flames.

the aircraft was en route from bangkok heading for muan airport. the authorities say a birdstrike may have caused the landing gear to malfunction. the airline has issued a formal apology. our seoul correspondent jean mackenzie is at the crash site and sent this report. we are at the perimeter of the airport now and this will behind this is where the plane crashed without it overshot the runway. just booking up behind us you can see the black and charred tale of the plane. this is the only part of the aircraft that is still intact. the rest fractured and splintered that the fire service says it is unidentifiable. butjust a way to the right of me here in the fields we have investigators combing the grasses looking for any remnants of the plane and passengers. this is the deadliest plane crash that has ever taken place on south korean soil. it is assumed now that all the passengers have died. the only two people who have been rescued from the plane were two flight attendants who were sitting at

the very back and were able to be taken off quickly and they have been taken to hospital put up have been taken to hospital put up the cause of the crash is still unknown. it is reported and thought that the plane's landing gearfailed to come down. there are also reports thatjust before landing a bird got into the plain's engine and caused a fire that although we don't have this confirmed and there are still big questions about what went wrong. the passengers were returning from thailand where it is thought many of them had to be on holiday over christmas. 66 air is the most popular budget airline. it is well known across asia and is a relatively safe airline. this is thought to be the only fatal accident it has had on the almost 20 years it has been operating. for koreans is just one shock after another. the is going through an acute political crisis at the moment after the president was ousted for trying to impose martial law here and so the acting president has only been in office now 48

hours. this is a major test for him. he has come to the airport and now this afternoon where he is overseeing the recovery operations and offering support liberate families. the local fire chief has given an update on the rescue operation at the airport. translation: we are assuming the cause of— translation: we are assuming the cause of the _ translation: we are assuming the cause of the accident - translation: we are assuming the cause of the accident to - translation: we are assuming the cause of the accident to be l the cause of the accident to be an air strike the cause of the accident to be an airstrike or the cause of the accident to be an air strike or deteriorating conditions —— bird strike. it'll be a forensic and joint investigation. we are doing our best to search for more survivors. as a person who has seen the site i can only say i am sad. ican i can show you some live pictures at the scene where investigators are trying to work out what happened and slipped through the wreckage of that pain stop we have been seeing the officials giving these updates being very emotional and affected by what has happened there today. the

latest figures we have from that crash are 167 people have died, the plane had 181 passengers on board. two people were rescued from the plane. it is believed they are members of the crew. two people were taken to hospitalfor the crew. two people were taken to hospital for treatment straightaway. as you can see, knight has pollen now so they have the floodlights out and are sifting through the wreckage. the flight recorder of the plane has been recovered. presumably it will be a matter of time before we find out what that can tell us. let's speak to 0ongbe lee from the bbc korean service in seoul. i was just giving the latest update on the figures there but if you could perhaps talk us through what you know about what happened to this plain. this tragic incident happened right after 9am on sunday

morning in south korea. the latest information we have from the national fire agency is that 167 people have been confirmed to have died from this incident. there were 181 passengers including six crew members. two crew members were rescued from the wreckage, everyone else are presumed to be dead. the national fire agency and government have deployed personnel on site to support and help the rescue operation. more than 1500 people including police and firefighters are on the scene. also police forensic have been deployed on site. they have recovered the flight recorder and also are now chasing the voice recorder which we believe would give more concrete evidence of the exact cause of the incident.— the incident. just in terms of what the _ the incident. just in terms of what the authorities - the incident. just in terms of what the authorities have . the incident. just in terms of. what the authorities have said

about what could have caused this crash, we are hearing suggestions that perhaps it hit some birds, the plane hit some birds which would have had some sort of impact on the ability of the plane to get down the landing gear. of the plane to get down the landing gear-— landing gear. initially there has been — landing gear. initially there has been reported - landing gear. initially there has been reported in - landing gear. initially there has been reported in the i has been reported in the landing gearfailure. the landing gear failure. the flight landing gearfailure. the flight has sent a mayday signal to the control tower. while trying to land, many are saying it is likely a bird strike made the plane crash in full to the ground. however untilwe the plane crash in full to the ground. however until we have concrete evidence based on the voice recorder and all the evidence on site, we will have to wait for the exact cause of this incident. in to wait for the exact cause of this incident.— this incident. in terms of the resnonse _ this incident. in terms of the response and _ this incident. in terms of the response and how _ this incident. in terms of the response and how preparedl this incident. in terms of the i response and how prepared the airport was to deal with an incident like that, what has been set on that front? there is not much — been set on that front? there is not much saying _ been set on that front? there is not much saying about - been set on that front? there is not much saying about the | is not much saying about the airport. the airport itself is

on the southern part of south korea stop it is not too big, it is a small local airport. however on the runway distance, the facility itself didn't seem to affect the incident. we are heafina to affect the incident. we are hearing 1500 _ to affect the incident. we are hearing 1500 emergency - hearing 1500 emergency personnel were deployed to the site at the special disaster zone has been enforced. as we know south korea is in the grip of a political crisis at the moment. the president has only beenin moment. the president has only been in office two days. talk us who is in charge of this. right now is the acting president after the president's impeachment vote passed there was no prime minister became the acting president but now with that prime minister were being impeached we have this new acting president who has just been in office today is having to look after this national crisis. 0verall having to look after this national crisis. overall in south korea because people were

already overwhelmed by the impeachment process and protest, on top of it, now with this tragic incident, the sorrow, is sweeping the nation. having said that many south koreans are now heading down to the southern area of south korea to support the victims�* families and volunteer for any support on site.— families and volunteer for any support on site. could you tell is about the _ support on site. could you tell is about the safety _ support on site. could you tell is about the safety record - support on site. could you tell is about the safety record in l is about the safety record in south korea and of thisjeju air itself? south korea and of this je'u air itself?�* south korea and of this je'u airitself? . , , , air itself? that is exactly why many south _ air itself? that is exactly why many south koreans - air itself? that is exactly why many south koreans didn't i many south koreans didn�*t believe this news when i saw this on sunday morning, because south korea is known to have a very sound record of flight safety, especially this jeju air, is a leading low safety, especially thisjeju air, is a leading low budget airline in south korea which many south koreans use. having been operating a little over 20 years there has not been a single fatal incident. this has

come as a surprise and shock to many south koreans. this come as a surprise and shock to many south koreans.— many south koreans. this is an airline that _ many south koreans. this is an airline that a _ many south koreans. this is an airline that a lot _ many south koreans. this is an airline that a lot of _ many south koreans. this is an airline that a lot of people - airline that a lot of people will have used, a low—budget popular airline. will have used, a low—budget popularairline. it will have used, a low-budget popular airline.— popular airline. it is so it is not only — popular airline. it is so it is not only a _ popular airline. it is so it is not only a domestic - popular airline. it is so it is not only a domestic airline | popular airline. it is so it is i not only a domestic airline but it mainly travel south korea but also regional countries in asia. ., ~ but also regional countries in asia. . ~ the ceo ofjeju air has 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. he also insisted that the airline will cooperate with investigators and make supporting the bereaved its top priority. translation: personally i bow an apology _ translation: personally i bow an apology to — translation: personally i bow an apology to everyone - translation: personally i bow an apology to everyone who - translation: personally i bow an apology to everyone who has cherished jeju air. above all i want to give my sincere apology and condolences to those who

have lost their lives in the accident and their families. at the moment it is hard to presume the cause of the accident and we have to wait for the official investigation results from the authority. joining us now on the line from muan international airport, jen moon who is an international affairs specialist and journalist in south korea. 0bviously all attention now has been focused on the relatives and buried. but they will want answers and to know why this happened. what are you hearing about the cause of this? absolutely. it has been 7—8 hours since the crash. authorities are still making their way to rescue and search either survivors or the parties. heartbreaking scenes here at the international airport as family gathers to

receive news about their loved ones. they are being briefed by government authorities every half hour on the whereabouts and when of the investigations and when of the investigations and search and rescue operations but i hear wales of great family members. some express anger about what they see as delayed response from authorities and the airline. some of the families have been allowed near the crash site but were denied access due to the restricted nature of the airport zone. the arrival area of airport is now packed with families and red cross volunteers. they are handing out blankets. many people are hugging each other and weeping and there is a lot of confusion amongst people, scrambling to identify their loved ones. in the airport area hundreds of relatives are gathered waiting for the news. no cause for the plane crash has been officially confirmed yet but what

relatives and loved ones are hearing is the fire service has actually suggested it could have been because of a collision with bird in poor weather conditions. the transport minister officials have said 1531 00:12:16,