At least 167 killed in Jeju Air plane crash in South Korea

A plane carrying 181 passengers has crashed at an airport in South Korea, killing at least 167 people, the country's fire authorities have said.

The aircraft came off the runway and crashed into a wall at Muan International Airport in the south west of the country, the national Yonhap news agency reported.

The Jeju Air plane, which was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members, was returning from Bangkok in Thailand and crashed as it was landing.

Only two survivors have been found so far - crew members who had been in the plane's tail section.

The passengers on board the flight included 173 South Koreans and two Thais, Yonhap reported.

The cause of the crash is still not known, but local media reported it may have been caused by birds getting caught in the plane's systems.

Unverified footage uploaded to social media of the crash - which happened shortly after 09:00 local time (00:00 GMT) - shows the aircraft skidding off the runway and crashing into a wall, before part of it bursts into flames.

Other footage shows a large plume of black smoke rising into the sky.

South Korea's fire agency said 80 firefighters and more than 30 fire trucks had been deployed to the crash site.

Muan is about 178 miles (288 km) south of the capital, Seoul.

South Korea's aviation industry is considered to have a solid track record for safety.

This crash is the first fatal accident in the history of Jeju Air, one of South Korea's largest low-cost airlines, which was set up in 2005.

It is also the first fatal crash by a South Korean airline in over a decade. In 2013, three people were killed when an Asiana Airlines flight crashed while landing in San Francisco.