The navy said all four crew members on the South Korean Navy plane were killed after the plane crashed in a city on the southeast coast.
The P-3C Orion Turboprop surface used to patrol the Marines took off from the city base at 1:43pm and crashed for unknown reasons, the Navy said in a statement.
It said it was in the process of identifying the bodies of the four crew members and recovering them.
There were no immediate reports of civilian casualties on the ground.
The Navy established a task force to investigate crash falls and temporarily grounded a fleet of P-3s known as “submarine killers” due to the submarine’s combat capabilities.
Pohang’s emergency office said rescuers and fire trucks were sent to the site after receiving reports that the aircraft had crashed on the hill near the apartment and caused a fire.
The photo showed firefighters and emergency vehicles near the P-3C crash site where flames flickered as smoke swallowed nearby trees.
Local emergency services said two helicopters and 40 firefighters were deployed in the area to fight the fire.
The South Korean Navy is expected to complete by mid-2025, mid-planning to upgrade its plane fleet to the Boeing P-8A Poseidon.
