A passenger plane carrying 181 people crash-landed on its belly on Sunday at an airport in South Korea, hitting a barrier and exploding into an orange fireball in the worst aviation disaster in the country in almost three decades.

       Nearly all of the people on board the plane, a Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air, were killed, officials said.

       The plane, Flight 7C2216, had taken off from Bangkok and was landing at Muan International Airport in South Korea’s southwest when it crashed around 9 a.m. local time. Officials said the plane had broken into so many pieces that only its tail was identifiable.

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       The plane was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members. As of Sunday evening, the official death toll had risen to 179, according to the National Fire Agency. Only two people — crew members who were rescued from the aircraft’s tail section — survived.

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       South Korea Plane Crash Kills 179 People

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       Only two people survived when a Jeju Air plane crashed at Muan Airport in South Korea on Sunday, the country’s worst aviation disaster in decades. Officials said they were investigating the cause.CreditCredit...Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

       Here’s what you need to know: What caused the crash? This was South Korea’s worst passenger plane crash in decades. The Boeing 737-800 has a strong safety record.

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