“Of the 179 dead, 65 have been identified”, said the fire department, adding that DNA samples were currently being collected.

In the country's worst air disaster to date, flight JJA-2216 crashed at 09:03 local time (00:03 GMT) on Sunday. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-8AS, was carrying 181 people, including six crew members, from the Thai capital Bangkok to Muan, some 290 kilometers south of Seoul.

Rescued from the wreckage, two crew members were the only survivors of the tragedy. They were initially treated in separate hospitals in Mokpo before being transferred to Seoul, according to the Yonhap news agency, which stated that their injuries were not life-threatening.

According to the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the control tower warned the flight crew of a bird strike. The pilot made a distress call before crashing two minutes later while attempting to land.

“The cause of the accident is possibly due to be a bird strike combined with unfavorable weather conditions. However, the exact cause will be announced after an investigation,” Muan Fire Chief Lee Jeong-hyun said at a press briefing.

The passengers on board (82 men and 93 women) were of Korean nationality, in addition to two Thai nationals, according to local authorities.

During his visit to the crash site, Acting President Choi Sang-mok declared Muan county a special disaster zone, urging authorities to mobilize all resources for search operations.

He also declared a seven-day national mourning period, starting this Sunday and ending Saturday at midnight, Yonhap reports.

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing said it came in contact with Jeju Air and stands “ready to support them”. 

This air accident is the deadliest ever recorded on Korean soil and the third deadliest involving a Korean airline, according to Yonhap.

It is also the first fatal accident in the history of Jeju Air, one of Korea's largest low-cost airlines, founded in 2005.