ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Monday expressed his condolences to the government and people of South Korea for the fatal plane crash that killed 179 people - the country’s worst aviation disaster in decades.
“I offer my condolences to the people and government of South Korea for the tragic Jeju Air plane crash,” Prime Minister Barzani wrote in a post on X on Monday. “My thoughts are with the families of the victims during this difficult time.”
Korean authorities have cited a bird strike as a cause of Sunday's crash of the Jeju Airplane, in which only two passengers survived.
Seoul authorities on Monday said they were conducting a special inspection of all 101 Boeing 737-800s operating in South Korea.
South Korean authorities have declared seven days of national mourning.
Sunday’s crash came four days after an Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed in the Kazakh city of Aktau, killing 38 people and injuring 29. The Baku authorities blamed Russia for the crash.
Earlier on Monday, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani also expressed his condolences to the government of South Korea for the “tragic” plane crash.
"I express my deepest condolences and sympathies to the people and government of the Republic of Korea following the tragic plane crash yesterday,” Barzani said.
Barzani said that the Kurdistan Region "stands with" the people and government of South Korea at "this moment of sorrow.”
The Kurdistan Region enjoys strong diplomatic and cultural relationships with the government of Korea.