The first words from one of the surviving members of doomed Jeju Air flight 7C2216 have been revealed after it crash landed at Muan International Airport on Sunday morning (29 December).

After travelling from Bnagkok Thailand, the Boeing 737-800 made an emergency landing in Muan, South Korea, 180 miles from Seoul, at 9:03 local time.

News footage of the Jeju Air aircraft skidding dangerously down the runway with no landing gear deployed showed how terrifying the situation was, before it collided with a concrete wall and burst into a giant fireball.

Eyewitnesses said that they heard a ‘series of explosions’ as well as ‘metallic scraping’.

It has been reported that over 1,500 emergency personnel have been deployed in recovery efforts, as some have been searching for parts of the plane and bodies of passengers.

A number of them rushed to the crash site soon after, though it was reported by the BBC that only two of the 181 passengers and crew onboard survived, with both being crew members.

The South Korean National Fire Agency reported that the flight crew members, a man and a woman, survived, as they were found in the tail side of the plane and were swiftly taken to hospital.

The tail was the only recognisable part of the aircraft following the crash.

According to local news outlet Yonhap, the man is awake and ‘fully able to communicate’.

What were his first words?

When he was rescued and taken to hospital, the first thing the flight attendant, identified as Lee, said to doctors, was: “What happened?”

The crew member also asked: “Why am I here?”

He was said to look disoriented, and didn’t describe his injuries.

Lee, 32, clarified that he had his seatbelt on, and couldn’t remember events after the plane’s landing.

A hospital official explained what the problem may be: “It seems he was in a near-panic state, possibly worried about the safety of the plane and passengers.”

He was stationed at the rear of the plane to help passengers, though Yonhap report that he sustained a fractured left shoulder and head injuries while remaining conscious.

What about the other survivor?

The surviving woman has been identified as Kwon, a 25-year-old flight attendant that also cannot remember the crash.

Currently being treated at Mokpo Central Hospital, she told doctors that she had pain in her abdomen, ankle and head.

She also had a scalp laceration and a fractured ankle, according to hospital staff, who explained: “While her life is not in danger, we haven’t had time to ask her about the crash.”