There were two survivors and 177 people killed in a commercial airplane crash Sunday at a South Korean airport, officials said. The Jeju Air flight 2216 veered off the runway while landing at its destination, the Muan International Airport in southern South Korea, and caught fire after the crash, a spokesperson for the country’s National Fire Agency said. The Boeing 787-800 took off from Bangkok, Thailand, shortly after 2 a.m. local time (2 p.m. Saturday ET), according to the flight-tracking platform FlightAware. It was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members, said Joo Jong-wan, director of the Aviation Policy Division at South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. At least two of the passengers were Thai, Joo said. “We suspect that the accident may have been due to the breakdown in the malfunctioning landing gear,” Lee Jung-hyun, the head of the Muan Fire Department, said at a briefing. Lee said a bird strike and adverse weather also appeared to have played a role but cautioned that the exact cause is still under investigation. “The pilot declared mayday after issuing the bird strike alert,” Joo said, adding that the aircraft was “completely destroyed” in the crash. Air Travel Dec 26 What is known about a plane crash in Kazakhstan that killed 38 of 67 people on board Airlines Dec 2 Alaska Airlines tech issue briefly grounds planes in Seattle, disrupts bookings on Cyber Monday The plane appeared the skid along the runway and exploded as it rammed into a barrier, a video verified by NBC News showed. The tail of the plane, was the only part appearing seemingly intact as smoke engulfed the rest of the aircraft. Joo also provided an outline of the sequence of events leading to the disaster. The plane initially tried to land on the airport’s Runway 1, but the pilot was told to instead land on Runway 19 — in the opposite direction — due to a bird strike warning, Joo said. A minute later, the pilot sent a mayday signal following the bird strike and tried to land on Runway 19. While passing over the runway, the plane failed to lower the landing gear after it struck a safety system called a localizer — which provides guidance during landing — and crashed into a wall, Joo said. The crash happened around 9:03 a.m. local time (7:03 p.m. ET Saturday), Lee said. Firefighters put out the initial blaze at 9:46 a.m. local time, the fire agency spokesperson said. The country’s national fire agency later confirmed the death of 179 people, making it the deadliest airline disaster of the year and the first fatal accident in the history of the low-cost airline, which was founded in 2005. Among those killed, at least 77 were female and 79 were male. The genders of the other victims were not immediately identifiable. Two crew members — a man and woman — were rescued and suffered moderate injuries but were conscious, Joo said. Officials originally said the rescued pair were a passenger and a crew member. The plane was “completely destroyed by fire,” Joo said at a briefing, adding investigators have retrieved both the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, which will be key to providing insights into the last moments of the fatal landing. The full investigation, he said, could take between six months to three years. The plane manufacturer, Boeing, extended its apologies and said it was in contact with the airline. In a statement, Jeju Air extended its apologies to “everyone affected” by the incident. pic.twitter.com/TIrIUBw4RB— The Boeing Company (@Boeing) December 29, 2024 “Above all, we offer our heartfelt condolences and apologies to the passengers who tragically lost their lives in the accident and to their bereaved families,” Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae said, assuming “full responsibility for this tragedy” and adding that the airline would provide support for the passengers’ families. South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, called for immediate and full mobilization efforts “to put out the fire and rescue people,” the Ministry of Interior and Safety in a statement. The presidential office said in a text briefing that an emergency meeting was being held over the crash. In a statement, the country’s national defense ministry said it convened an emergency response team and deployed military personnel and equipment to the site to provide support. Choi later arrived to the site and declared it a “special disaster zone” while expressing condolences to victims and their families and saying his government would “thoroughly investigate” what caused the crash. “Moving forward, the government will focus on rescuing survivors, managing the recovery of victims, preparing funeral arrangements, providing comfort and support to the bereaved families, and offering clear explanations about the situation,” Park Sang-woo, the minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said. Joo said more than 1,500 personnel members from multiple agencies were conducting search and recovery efforts. The deceased temporarily being kept at a makeshift mortuary set up at the airport, Joo said. The airport is about 180 miles south of Seoul. Stella Kim reported from Seoul, South Korea, and Mithil Aggarwal reported from Hong Kong. The airport is about 180 miles south of Seoul. This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News: 2 dead, others injured as storms roll through South Utah authorities seek those responsible for damaging panel of ancient outdoor engravings Shohei Ohtani expecting a baby with wife Mamiko Tanaka