Thousands of South Koreans cancel flight reservations after plane crash

ANKARA

Thousands of South Koreans have canceled their flight tickets after a deadly airliner crash that claimed 179 lives, local media reported on Monday.

Jeju Air Co. revealed that around 68,000 flight reservations had been canceled, among them over 33,000 were for domestic flights, while over 34,000 were for international routes, according to Yonhap News Agency.

The airline said that most passengers canceled their tickets after their flight 7C2216, carrying 181 people, crashed at Muan International Airport in the southwestern county of Muan on Sunday.

Authorities are currently investigating the exact cause of the accident as they are focusing on a possible bird strike.

However, on Monday some experts and observers also raised questions over the existence of a concrete mound at the airport and said whether its absence could have prevented the accident's high number of casualties.

On Sunday, the plane skidded along the ground without landing gear and crashed into a concrete wall before bursting into flames with a deafening explosion,

The concrete structure in question holds a navigation system that assists in aircraft landings, known as a localizer, and is located about 250 meters from the end of the runway, according to the agency.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid