Reuters said the incident happened at 12:45 am on May 26 (local time) on an Asiana Airlines flight. The Airbus A5 carrying 321 passengers took off from Jeju Island and encountered problems while preparing to land at Daegu airport.
“A male passenger sitting near the exit door on the left removed the cover and pulled the lever, causing the door to open at a height of about 200 meters above the ground. The passengers were wearing seat belts at the time," a spokesman for Asiana Airlines said. "No one was injured in the incident, but nine people were hospitalized with difficulty breathing."
Rescue workers transfer a passenger on a stretcher to an ambulance during the opening of a plane emergency door in Daegu. Photo: AP
The flight had 48 elementary and middle school students on their way to participate in the national sports festival in Ulsan City, about 70 kilometers southeast of Daegu. Of the nine victims hospitalized, eight were students.
“Everything was chaotic. People sitting near the emergency exits seemed to faint one after another," a 44-year-old passenger told Reuters. In my head, I thought the plane was going to explode and I was going to die.”
Another parent who was on the same flight shared: “The children were shaking and crying in panic. The children sitting near the emergency exits were probably the most shocked.”
Another witness described the man who appeared to want to jump out after opening the door: "The flight attendants shouted loudly, calling for other passengers to help hold him and pull him inside."
Plainclothes police arrest a passenger opening an emergency exit at Daegu International Airport. Photo: AP
South Korean police arrested and questioned the male passenger. Initially, it was determined that the male passenger was traveling alone and was not drunk when he was arrested.
"It is very difficult to have a normal conversation with the male passenger," a police official said. "We will investigate the motive and punish the man."
