At least 167 people were killed when an Jeju Air plane belly-landed and veered off the runway, erupting in a fireball as it slammed into a wall at South Korea's Muan International Airport on Sunday, the national fire agency said.

Dozens of people were killed on Sunday when a passenger jet crash-landed at an airport in southwestern South Korea, with the aircraft careening down the runway on its belly before bursting into flames.

The death toll was expected to rise further, as the rest of the people aboard the plane remained missing about six hours after the incident.