SKorean Air Skids Off Runway; 6 Injured

SEOUL, South Korea – A South Korean plane skidded off the runway after landing in the southern city of Busan on Sunday, injuring six people, officials said.

The incident involving a Jeju Air 74-seat Q400 plane, happened at Gimhae International Airport around 9:37 a.m., forcing the airport’s closure for around 25 minutes, said airport official Lee Yong-tae.

The six injured passengers were taken to a nearby hospital, said Um Chul-hwan, another airport official, adding that they appeared to have sustained no serious injuries.

Aviation experts were to fly to Busan to investigate the cause of the accident, according to the Ministry of Construction and Transportation.

Repeated calls to Jeju Air went unanswered.

The budget airline first began commercial service in June 2006, operating five Q400 twin engine turboprop passenger aircraft linking Seoul’s Gimpo airport and Busan’s Gimhae airport to the southern resort island of Jeju.