160 feared dead as Chinese plane crashes into mountain

More than 160 passengers aboard a Chinese plane were feared dead after the aircraft crashed near one of the World Cup host cities in bad weather early today.

The Air China Boeing 767 from Beijing went down at around 11am (3am Irish time) as it approached Kimhae Airport near Pusan, South Korea’s second largest city, 200 miles south east of Seoul, police and airline officials said.

Air China’s office in Seoul said the Boeing 767 was carrying 155 passengers and 11 crew. But the cable news network, YTN, said those on board included 115 passengers and 11 crewmen.

‘‘Most of the passengers are presumed dead,’’ said one officer at the situation room at the National Police Agency in Seoul.

The officer, who asked he not be identified, said that the plane crashed on a mountain near a residential area. He did not say whether there were any casualties on the ground.

YTN said that there were about 10 survivors.

Police said it was raining at the time of the crash. Low cloud and dense fog reduced visibility in the area, they said.

The crash occurred ahead of the opening of the soccer World Cup. Pusan - also known as Busan - is one of the 10 South Korean host cities for the May 31-June 30 tournament.

Air China, China’s national carrier, is the largest airline in terms of traffic volume and company assets, according to the China Airlines website. The airline has not had a fatal crash since it was founded in 1988, according to the aviation safety website, Airsafe.com.