Wreckage on Guam

Guam resident, Jeff Evans, describes the final moments of Flight 801

Jumbo Jet Crashes in Pacific

Early reports from the crash scene suggested 30 people had survived.

Emergency services had to scramble through rugged jungle-draped hills to reach the survivors.

Flight 801 from Seoul, South Korea, to Guam was cleared to land when contact was lost. The jetliner was just three miles from Guam's A.B. Won Pat International Airport at that time.

In Washington, White House officials said the pilot had radioed the airport tower to declare an "in-flight emergency " and mentioned there was a fire on board.

The weather has been poor on Guam

In Seoul, a Korean Air (KAL) spokesman said the plane was carrying 254 people. 231 were passengers and 23 were crew. Most of the passengers were Korean tourists and honeymooners, though the passenger list included one Japanese citizen and at least 13 Americans, the airline said.

At the Pentagon, officials said two Navy CH-46 choppers took the injured to hospital.

A Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman in Tokyo said one of the survivors was Rika Matsuda, an 11-year-old girl. He said she was believed to be a Japanese citizen, but officials were still trying to confirm that. She was only slightly injured, and was being treated at Guam Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Edwardo Cruz at Guam Memorial said the hospital received its first victim three hours after the crash.

The plane went down in heavy rain, said James Hall, chairman of the US National Transportation Safety Board.

Korean Air jet

The Boeing Corporation in the United States were on standby to send flight safety engineers to Guam to assist in the investigation.

Boeing spokesman, Doug Webb, said the jet involved was a Boeing 747-300 delivered to Korean Air Lines in December 1984. The jet had accumulated just under 50,000 hours of flight time in 8,433 flights.

The tiny Pacific island is an unincorporated territory of the US and therefore, all matters come under its jurisdiction.