At least 177 people have been killed after a plane carrying 181 passengers and crew crashed landed and burst into flames at a South Korean airport, in one of the country’s worst aviation disasters.

The Jeju Air passengerplane’s landing gear appeared to fail to deploy as it was seen skidding across the runway on its “belly” at the Muan airport in the southwest of the country before crashing into a concrete barrier.

South Korea's national fire agency said the dead included 84 women, 82 men and 11 others whose genders weren’t immediately identifiable.