The flight, operated by Jeju Air, was landing when it went off the runway in Muan, in the country’s southwest. Only two people survived the crash.

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A passenger plane crashed while landing at an airport in South Korea on Sunday, killing almost all of the 181 people on board in the worst aviation disaster involving a South Korean airline in almost three decades, officials said.

The Boeing 737-800 plane was operated by South Korea’s Jeju Air and had taken off from Bangkok. It was landing at Muan International Airport in the country’s southwest when it crashed around 9 a.m. local time. Footage of the accident shows a white-and-orange plane speeding down a runway on its belly until it overshoots the runway, hitting a barrier and exploding into an orange fireball.

Dos miembros de la tripulación fueron rescatados de la sección de cola del avión, pero el domingo por la noche se había confirmado la muerte de las otras 179 personas a bordo. Las autoridades estaban investigando qué causó la tragedia, incluido el motivo por el que el tren de aterrizaje del avión parecía haber funcionado mal, si los pájaros habían chocado contra el avión o si el mal tiempo había sido un factor.

The airport in Muan had warned the plane’s pilots about a potential bird strike as they were landing, said Ju Jong-wan, a director of aviation policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The plane issued a mayday alert shortly afterward, then crash-landed, he added, saying later that the plane’s black boxes — which could help determine the cause of the crash — have been recovered.

Jeju Air flight 7C2216 had 175 passengers and six crew members on board. Hundreds of people — grandparents, parents and children — packed the Muan airport waiting anxiously for news about their loved ones.

More than 1,500 people were deployed to help search the wreckage. As investigators worked to identify the bodies, officials posted lists in the airport of the names that had been confirmed and collected DNA from relatives.

Lee Jeong-hyeon, an official in charge of search and rescue operations at the scene, said the plane had broken into so many pieces that only its tail was identifiable.