The crash occurred as Jeju Air flight 7C2216, traveling from Bangkok, Thailand, was landing at Muan International Airport in South Korea.

At least 47 people have been reported killed after a passenger plane crashed while landing at Muan International Airport in the South Korean city of Muan. The incident occurred on Sunday morning as Jeju Air flight 7C2216, carrying 175 passengers and six crew members from Bangkok, Thailand, was attempting to land in the country’s southwest.

According to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, firefighting authorities confirmed that 47 people were killed in the crash, while two survivors were found alive.

Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride, reporting from Seoul, said a major rescue operation was underway at the airport. “This was a flight returning overnight from Bangkok. There seems to have been some kind of malfunction with the landing gear, and images which have been on the media here do appear to show the plane landing on its belly, skidding along the runway, followed then by a huge explosion,” McBride explained.

Eyewitnesses reported hearing multiple explosions, and media images depicted a catastrophic fire. One photo shared by local media showed thick clouds of black smoke emerging from the plane. Another photo captured the tail section of the aircraft engulfed in flames on the side of the runway, with firefighters and emergency vehicles nearby.

South Korea’s Acting President, Choi Sang-mok, has ordered “all-out efforts for rescue operations” at Muan International Airport. “All related agencies… must mobilize all available resources to save the personnel,” Choi said in a statement.

Yonhap also reported that the crash is believed to have been caused by “contact with birds, resulting in malfunctioning landing gear” as the plane was attempting to land.