South Korean Navy Plane Carrying Four People Crashes In Mountain

A plane crashed in the southern city of Pohang in South Korea, the Yonhap News Agency reported on Thursday, citing the fire authorities. The plane belongs to the navy, the Newsis news agency said. South Korea's navy said a maritime patrol aircraft with four people on board crashed near a military base in the southern city of Pohang on Thursday. 

The crash happened at 1:43 p.m. (local time) in the South Korean Navy said in a statement. The navy was trying to confirm the cause of the accident and the number of casualties, it said.

Earlier, the Yonhap News Agency reported the plane crashed in the mountains on the east coast, citing authorities. Smoke was seen from the location where the plane appeared to have crashed, Yonhap said, citing a civilian witness.

Two bodies found: Navy official

Cho Young-sang, a navy officer overseeing the search efforts, said in a televised briefing that workers found the bodies of two crew members and were preparing to transfer them to a nearby hospital. He said workers were continuing to search for the other two, the South China Morning Post reported.

An emergency office in Pohang said that rescuers and fire trucks were dispatched to the site after receiving reports from local residents that an unidentified aircraft fell onto a hill near a residential complex and caused a fire.

In December, a Jeju Air passenger plane crashed at Muan International Airport in southern South Korea, killing all but two of the 181 people on board. It was one of the deadliest disasters in South Korea’s aviation history.

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