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Tweet Facebook Mail Scores of people were killed on Sunday when a passenger jet crash-landed at an airport in southwestern South Korea , with the aircraft careening down the runway on its belly before bursting into flames. Just two of the 181 people on board the plane survived, after the deaths of 179 people were confirmed, according to the local fire department. The two survivors are both crew members who were pulled alive from the crash site. It is believed they were both sitting right at the back of the plane. It is the deadliest aviation disaster to hit South Korea since 1997, when a Korean Airlines Boeing 747 crashed in the Guam jungle, with the loss of 228 lives. READ MORE: Elon Musk causes uproar for backing Germany's far-right party ahead of key elections Emergency officials confirm only 2 of the 181 people on board survived a plane crash in South Korea. (Getty) What happened? Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 from Bangkok was carrying 175 passengers and six crew when disaster struck at the airport in Muan county, on the country's southwestern tip, just after 9 a.m. local time Sunday (7 p.m. ET Saturday). Footage of Sunday's crash broadcast by multiple South Korean news outlets showed the plane sliding on its belly at high speed, hitting an earthen embankment and erupting in a fireball. Neither the back nor front landing gear was visible in the footage – broadcast by networks including YTN, JTBC and MBC – as smoke poured from the back of the sliding aircraft. Firefighters were later seen using water cannons to extinguish the blazing wreckage of the aircraft, which was listed as a Boeing 737-800 on flight-tracking site FlightAware. Several parts of the aircraft were also seen strewn across the runway. The victims include 84 males, 85 females, and 10 people whose gender could not be determined, according to the South Jeolla Fire Service. Both of the survivors were crew members, one male and one female, according to the rescue team. Two Thai nationals were among those on board, according to the South Korean Land Ministry. All the other passengers were South Korean. READ MORE: Interest rates didn't budge in 2024. This is what experts expect them to do in 2025 A passenger plane is in flames at the Muan International Airport in Muan. (AP) What caused the accident? Experts told CNN that the plane's undercarriage – specifically, the wheels used for takeoff and landing – appeared not to have fully deployed before landing. But what caused this failure to deploy is still unclear. Aviation analysts said more evidence is needed before South Korean authorities can definitively pinpoint what might have caused Sunday's crash, including speculation from local officials about a possible bird strike prior to the crash landing. The comments came after Lee Jeong-hyun, the head of the Muan Fire Department, briefed the media that the cause was "estimated to be the occurrence of a bird strike or bad weather." Footage of the crash showed clear skies at the time. David Soucie, former Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector, said that "speculation is the worst enemy of an investigator." "In fact, that's why it's so protected when there is an aircraft accident investigation, the information is protected. They're not supposed to be making any speculation about this type of thing," Soucie told CNN's Paula Newton. READ MORE: Disaster payment for Victorians impacted by 'heartbreaking' bushfire in Grampians A victim rescued from a plane crash is transported to a hospital in South Korea. (AP) Aviation industry consultant Scott Hamilton echoed Soucie's concerns and urged South Korean authorities to "stop making declarative statements" at this stage. Sunday's crash is "very perplexing" given that both the aircraft and carrier have a strong safety record and flying conditions were excellent, an aviation journalist said. The Boeing 737-800 is one of the most widely used aircraft in the world and each one is used for about four or five flights per day, Geoffrey Thomas, editor of Airline News, told CNN's Paula Newton. "It is the most reliable aircraft in the world, and it's been in service for 20 years," he said. "Everybody knows how it works. And it works really, really well. And the maintenance done in [South] Korea is as good as it gets around the world." "It's a little bit unclear whether or not the undercarriage collapsed on landing or whether the undercarriage was not deployed at all. This is a really serious issue that obviously investigators will be very much focused on," Thomas added. He added "it is perplexing" that the crash happened, given it was landing under dry and sunny conditions at a good airport. Jeju Air's chief executive said the aircraft had shown "no signs of issues" prior to Sunday's accident. "At this time, it is difficult to determine the cause of the accident, and we have to wait for the official announcement of the investigation by the relevant government agency," Kim Yi-bae said during a press briefing at the airport. READ MORE: Man charged with murder after body found in driveway in Sydney's west People watch the news regarding the plane crash at Seoul station. (Getty) Where is the investigation focused? Officers from the national Incident Investigation Committee had arrived to look into what caused the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading a team of US investigators, including from Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to assist South Korean authorities with their investigation of the crash. The NTSB said any information about the investigation would be released by South Korea's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB). According to a briefing from South Korea's Land Ministry, the control tower had instructed the pilot to change course to land in the opposite direction, to avoid the potential bird strike. The pilot followed the instructions. Approximately one minute later, the pilot made a mayday call to the tower. The landing attempt occurred approximately two minutes after the mayday call, according to the ministry. Authorities are continuing their investigation. The "black box" flight data recorder has been recovered by the accident investigation committee while the voice recording device has not been recovered yet, officials from the ministry said. The flight data recorders or so-called "black boxes" offer aviation safety investigators critical facts when piecing together an incident. More than 700 personnel from the police, military, and coast guard have been mobilised for on-site response efforts, the ministry added. READ MORE: Man shot dead, car set on fire in western Sydney Firefighters work to extinguish a fire off the runway of Muan International Airport in Muan. (AP) What are the authorities saying? South Korea's acting president said the site of Sunday's plane crash has been declared a special disaster zone as he vowed a full investigation into what caused the deadly disaster. "We will concentrate all resources on recovery and support for the victims. All necessary resources are being mobilised, and a special disaster zone has been declared," Choi Sang-mok said in a statement. Choi, who travelled to the crash site on Sunday, extended his "heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families" and pledged to make every effort to manage the aftermath of the incident and prevent similar accidents in future. The tragedy comes only two days into Choi's acting presidency, the latest chapter in a time of political chaos in South Korea. The country's current president, Yoon Suk Yeol, was stripped of his powers by parliament two weeks ago following a short-lived martial law order that plunged the country into political disarray. He is currently suspended while a top court decides his fate. Han Duck-soo, the man who stepped in to replace Yoon as acting president, was impeached by parliament on Friday, meaning Choi – the finance minister and deputy prime minister – stepped in for him. READ MIORE: Australia's most and least likeable politicians revealed in poll Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae, fourth from left, and other executive members bow in apology. (AP) Fire engines work to extinguish a fire at the Muan International Airport in Muan. (AP) What has the plane's maker said? Boeing extended its condolences to those who lost loved ones in the crash. "We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding Flight 2216 and stand ready to support them," Boeing said in a short statement posted to its X account. "We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew," the company added. The US aviation giant has had a turbulent time in recent years, including two 737 Max crashes, a tragedy for which the company agreed to plead guilty to deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration during the certification process for the plane. However, analysts have described the Boeing 737-800 — an earlier and different model to the Max — as a reliable workhorse of the skies with an extremely strong safety record.No. 3 Iowa State, Colorado clash in Big 12 opener
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The back-to-back defending champs have their first loss of the year just five games into the season. Penny Hardaway and unranked Memphis knocked off No. 2 UConn 99-97 at the Maui Invitational on Monday, snapping a 17-game winning streak for the Huskies. UConn, which finished 37-3 a year ago, hadn't lost since Feb. 20 when they fell to Creighton in a Big East matchup. It was UConn's first loss to a non-conference opponent in almost a year. The Tigers led by double digits late in the second half, but Dan Hurley's squad had a late push to make it a three-point game with just over a minute to go. Memphis hit a pair of free throws before UConn did the same on the other end. The Huskies then forced a turnover down three with 13 seconds left. UConn scrambled on its final possession before Solo Ball drained a three with just over a second remaining to tie things up. Memphis' game-winner attempt from beyond halfcourt missed and the game went into overtime. It was back and forth for much of overtime before Hurley picked up a technical with less than a minute to go. The Tigers made both technical free throws before making two free throws from the previously called foul to make it a four-point game. A chaotic final minute saw UConn cut it back down to a one-possession game, but it was too little, too late with just two seconds remaining. Memphis looked to veteran transfer Tyrese Hunter in the win, and he delivered. The senior had 26 points on a scorching hot 7-of-10 from deep. Sophomore guard PJ Haggerty also contributed 22 points and five assists while senior forward Dain Dainja dropped 14 off the bench. After the game, fans were stunned to see the defending champs fall to an unranked squad. This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis. For more from Bleacher Report on this topic and from around the sports world, check out our B/R app , homepage and social feeds—including Twitter , Instagram , Facebook and TikTok .
Financing electric vehicle (EV) purchases is no longer risky compared to about five years ago, as more established players are now manufacturing such vehicles and the zero-emission mobility ecosystem has grown in the country, Shriram Finance's executive vice-chairman Umesh Revankar said. "I do not see a risk in lending for electric vehicles now because I feel technology is getting established and becoming more reliable because of the presence of large and established manufacturers. Once large entities come and build technology, reliability and infrastructure, then automatically that industry goes for a big change. This is happening in the two-wheeler segment. Similarly, that is happening in three-wheeler. Now we can see that it will happen in four-wheeler also," Revankar told Mint in an interview. He emphasized that five years ago, he wouldn't have thought of lending for EVs, but feels comfortable doing so now because green mobility is viable to individuals today. Also Read: "I do not see a big risk in lending for electric or any other alternative fuel vehicle as long as it is viable to the individual buyer who buys it. Five years ago, I would not have thought about financing electric vehicles at all. And now things are established, there are generally accepted standards, battery charging infrastructure," Revankar stressed. Product viability is justified when the cost of owning that product is less than its alternatives, he said. "For businesses to adopt electric vehicles, the product must be superior, and the overall cost of acquisition must be more favourable than diesel or other alternatives. The technology needs to be advanced enough to justify ownership," he said. Expanding EV funding To be sure, leading automakers such as Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor announced their foray into the EV segment in 2020, while Mahindra & Mahindra launched electric three-wheelers in 2018, indicating the growing presence of large automobile manufacturers in the EV sector over recent years. Tata Motors is already India's largest electric vehicles manufacturer. Revankar's assessment of the sector followed Shriram Finance's announcement of a specialized green vertical to cater to electric mobility and green projects. Shriram Green Finance will raise global and domestic funds over the next 3-4 years with a target of having assets under management (AUM) worth 5,000 crore, Revankar said. These assets will be used to fund green projects such as financing EVs, battery charging stations, renewable energy products and solutions, and energy-efficient machinery, Shriram Finance, a non-bank lender, had said in a press release on 20 December. Also Read: "I am trying to build a focus in the company, in the employees, to focus on electric and alternative fuels as a way of going forward and also trying to reach out to that set of a customer. We are trying to show that this team will continuously think, plan and look for an opportunity to serve, look for a viable product, and meet a similar kind of customers who are looking for a change," he said. Under the Shriram Green Finance vertical, Shriram Finance will provide support to entrepreneurs and individual consumers who want to purchase green vehicles, set up EV chargers, or engage in any other green projects. Government action key to EV growth A crucial hurdle for EV financing, however, is the absence of a long-term strategy towards boosting manufacturing scale, said Revankar. If there is lack of scale in manufacturing for green mobility, generating demand for funding green mobility acquisitions automatically becomes a challenge, he said. "I do not see a long-term strategy. We are talking about net zero by 2070, but what is the long-term strategy we have? That is not known. Every two or three years, the government introduces new subsidy schemes for EVs, but this is not going to really help the public ownership. The public needs certainty going forward for individuals to make a move," said Revankar. He said that the government should generate demand in the sector by electrifying public transport to expedite the green transition. "I believe all state government undertakings have facilities such as garages, depots, and bus stands that are public places. They can build infrastructure and electrify these locations and provide charging stations for everyone. It is easier for the government to take this step and establish infrastructure than to offer subsidies for individuals to buy electric vehicles. Therefore, I think both state and central governments need to collaborate and plan effectively, which will help in the transition," he said. Also Read: To be sure, the government's flagship subsidy scheme for electric vehicles -- PM E-drive -- has an overall outlay of 10,900 crore, of which 4,391 crore will be used to subsidize public transport, and 2,000 crore will be spent on supporting public EV charging infrastructure. The scheme is used to provide demand-side incentives. To provide supply-side incentives and boost indigenous manufacturing, the government also runs the production-linked incentive scheme for automobiles and auto components (PLI-Auto), specifically geared towards zero-emission vehicles. Both these schemes, however, will run for short durations. The PM E-drive scheme will work till FY26, and manufacturers will only receive benefits under the PLI-Auto scheme till FY28.
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