A gas explosion at a department store in Taiwan on Thursday killed four people and injured 26, fire authorities said.

The blast occurred at the food court on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store in Taichung city, the Taichung Fire Bureau said. The higher floors of the upscale department store were blown out, raining debris on pedestrians below.

Among the dead were two people visiting from Macau, Macao's Tourism Office confirmed Thursday. Local media reported that they were part of a family of seven who were there for tourism. The other five were also injured are now being treated at local hospitals in Taichung.

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Part of the store was under renovation, but it's not clear if the work was connected to the explosion, Taichung Vice Mayor Cheng Chao-hsin told reporters at the scene. "If it's found there were illegal actions or parts that violated renovation regulations, it will be dealt with appropriately," Cheng said.

Dozens of firefighters were deployed to the scene at about 11:30 a.m. Parts of the building's exterior were damaged and scattered fragments were strewn on the streets.

Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen told reporters at the scene that she felt the shock at her office nearby. She said the fire bureau would focus on a rescue operation first, but an investigation was also underway and officers were checking whether there were other sources of danger.

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te said he had asked all relevant government agencies to investigate the cause of the accident.

A South Korean court on Tuesday approved an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has been impeached and suspended from power over his decision to impose martial law on Dec. 3, investigating authorities said.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials confirmed the Seoul Western District Court approved the warrant.

SOUTH KOREA DEADLY PLANE CRASH: US SENDS INVESTIGATORS TO COUNTRY STILL REELING FROM DISASTER THAT KILLED 179

This is the first ever arrest warrant issued for an incumbent president in South Korea, according to local media.

On Monday, South Korean investigators sought an arrest warrant for Yoon over this month's short-lived imposition of martial law.

Yoon is facing a criminal investigation into possible insurrection charges.

The court declined to comment. 

The moment a Jeju Air flight skidded off a runway before crashing into a concrete barrier and bursting into flames at an airport in South Korea was caught on camera.

The crash on Sunday killed 179 people on board. Only two survived, a man and a woman who were both crew members. 

Footage aired by South Korean television channels showed the plane skidding — and apparently without its landing gear deployed. The jet overran the runway and hit a barrier, triggering a fiery explosion. Footage showed thick plumes of smoke billowing from the plane, which was engulfed in flames. 

The plane involved was a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 passenger jet. It was arriving from Bangkok when the crash happened at 9:03 a.m. local time near the town of Muan, which is about 180 miles south of Seoul. 

PLANE VEERS OFF AIRPORT RUNWAY IN SOUTH KOREA AND CRASHES, KILLING 179: REPORTS

Kyle Bailey, former a FAA safety team representative in the U.S., told Fox News that it appeared to him that the aircraft was traveling too fast as it skidded on the runway before striking what he believed was a structure that housed instrument landing equipment.

"I think that’s pretty much what spelled disaster for that airplane," he said.

Flight data and cockpit voice recorders of the plane's black box have been retrieved by workers. They will be examined by government experts investigating the cause of the crash and fire, Senior Transport Ministry official Joo Jong-wan said.

RUSSIA BEING BLAMED FOR AZERBAIJAN AIRLINES PLANE THAT CRASHED HUNDREDS OF MILES OFF COURSE, KILLING DOZENS

While it will likely take months to determine the cause of the crash, Lee Jeong-hyeon, chief of the Muan fire station, said workers were looking into various possibilities, including whether the aircraft was struck by birds.

President Biden issued a statement about the crash on Sunday, offering assistance from the U.S., if necessary.

KAZAKHSTAN PLANE CRASH SURVIVORS SAY THEY HEARD BANGS BEFORE AIRCRAFT WENT DOWN; PUTIN ISSUES STATEMENT

"Jill and I are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life that occurred as a result of the Jeju Airlines accident in Muan, Republic of Korea," Biden said. "As close allies, the American people share deep bonds of friendship with the South Korean people and our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted by this tragedy. The United States stands ready to provide any necessary assistance."

Transport Ministry officials said the airport control tower had issued a bird strike warning to the plane shortly before it intended to land and had given its pilot permission to land in a different area.

The plane was destroyed with the tail assembly being the only recognizable part among the wreckage, the fire chief told a televised briefing.

Fox News' Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Chris Pandolfo and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused Russia of executing an "absurd" cover-up after its air defenses allegedly "shot down" a passenger plane last week.

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the "tragic incident" this weekend, but the Kremlin has not formally stated that Russian air defenses shot down the plane. At least 38 people were killed in the incident.

"Our plane was shot down by accident," Aliyev told state television on Sunday. "Unfortunately, in the first three days we heard only absurd versions from Russia."

"We witnessed clear attempts to cover up the matter," he added.

AZERBAIJAN AIRLINES BLAMES DEADLY PLANE CRASH ON 'EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE' AS RUSSIA SPECULATION GROWS

A Kremlin statement said the incident occurred after Russian air defenses engaged with Ukrainian attack drones, but did not outright state that Russian forces had shot down the plane.

IT'S ‘VERY UNCLEAR’ WHAT HAPPENED IN AZERBAIJAN AIRLINES CRASH, EX-STATE DEPT OFFICIAL SAYS

Aliyev is a close ally with Putin's regime, and the pair held a phone call regarding the incident on Sunday. Neither party has released details of their conversation.

 Crew members and survivors of the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190-passenger jet say they heard at least one loud bang before the aircraft crashed on Christmas day.

AZERBAIJAN AIRLINES BLAMES DEADLY PLANE CRASH ON 'EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE' AS RUSSIA SPECULATION GROWS

Subhonkul Rakhimov, one of the passengers aboard Flight J2-8243, told Reuters from the hospital that he had begun to recite prayers and prepare for the end after hearing a bang.

"After the bang... I thought the plane was going to fall apart," Rakhimov told the outlet. "It was obvious that the plane had been damaged in some way. It was as if it was drunk - not the same plane anymore."

Surviving passenger Vafa Shabanova said that there were "two explosions in the sky, and an hour and a half later the plane crashed to the ground."

Reuters contributed to this report. 

Witnesses to a deadly plane crash in South Korea on Sunday said they observed flames in the engine of the aircraft and heard explosions, according to a report.

A Jeju Air flight skidded off a runway at Muan International Airport in the town of Muan, roughly 190 miles south of Seoul, and collided with a concrete fence, killing at least 176 people, the Associated Press reported, citing the country's National Fire Agency (NFA).

Authorities are investigating a potential landing gear failure stemming from a bird strike that may have caused the crash, according to Yonhap News Agency. 

Videos show the plane attempting to land without its landing gear deployed.

PLANE VEERS OFF AIRPORT RUNWAY IN SOUTH KOREA AND CRASHES, KILLING AT LEAST 176: REPORTS

The flight was carrying 181 people when the collision happened at about 9:03 a.m. local time. Emergency workers pulled two crew members to safety who health officials say are conscious and not in life-threatening condition, while three people remained missing.

South Korea's Transport Ministry said the plane was a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 jet that was returning from Bangkok in Thailand.

"We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding flight 2216 and stand ready to support them," Boeing said in a statement. "We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew."

One witness, Yoo Jae-yong, 41, who was staying at a rental house near the airport, said he saw a spark on the plane's right wing before the incident, according to Yonhap News Agency.

"I was telling my family there was a problem with the plane when I heard a loud explosion," Yoo said.

Another witness, identified only by his last name, Cho, told the outlet he was taking a walk 4.5 kilometers, or about 2.8 miles, from the airport when the plane crashed into the concrete wall at the end of the runway.

"I saw the plane descending and thought it was about to land when I noticed a flash of light," Cho said. "Then there was a loud bang followed by smoke in the air, and then I heard a series of explosions."

Kim Yong-cheol, 70, said the plane was unable to land in the initial attempt and had to circle back around to try again before the crash occurred.

Kim said he heard the sound of "metallic scraping" twice about five minutes before the crash. He also said he looked up at the sky and observed the plane ascending after failing to land before he heard a "loud explosion" and noticed "black smoke billowing into the sky."

KAZAKHSTAN PLANE CRASH SURVIVORS SAY THEY HEARD BANGS BEFORE AIRCRAFT WENT DOWN; PUTIN ISSUES STATEMENT

A 50-year-old witness, identified by his last name, Jung, was fishing nearby when he says he observed a flock of birds colliding with the plane, which resulted in a fire in the right engine.

"As the plane was landing on the runway, it hit a flock of birds approaching from the opposite direction," he said. "I heard two or three bangs as if the birds had been sucked into the engine before I saw flames coming from the right engine."

Kerati Kijmanawat, the director of Airports of Thailand, said in a statement that the plane departed from Suvarnabhumi Airport with no reports of abnormal conditions with the aircraft or on the runway.

Jeju Air said in a statement it expresses its "deep apology" over the crash and that it will do its "utmost to manage the aftermath of the accident."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

An Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 people, was shot down by a Russian air defense system, Reuters reported Thursday.

The report cited four sources in Azerbaijan familiar with the investigation into the crash. One of the sources said preliminary results showed the plane was struck by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system, and its communications were paralyzed by electronic warfare systems on the approach into Grozny, Reuters reported. 

"No one claims that it was done on purpose," the source told Reuters. "However, taking into account the established facts, Baku expects the Russian side to confess to the shooting down of the Azerbaijani aircraft."

Officials in Russia and Kazakhstan have remained tight-lipped after the Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau with dozens of souls aboard.

RUSSIA BEING BLAMED FOR AZERBAIJAN AIRLINES PLANE THAT CRASHED HUNDREDS OF MILES OFF COURSE, KILLING DOZENS

A Ukrainian national security official has blamed Russian air defense fire for the deadly crash, which killed 38 people on Christmas Day. 

The Embraer 190 passenger jet flying from Azerbaijan to Russia had 62 passengers and five crew on board, according to Kazakh authorities. It had flown hundreds of miles off its scheduled route to crash on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea. Twenty-nine people survived. 

Video of the crash showed the plane descending rapidly before bursting into flames as it hit the seashore, and thick black smoke then rising, Reuters reported. 

Officials did not immediately explain why the plane had crossed the sea, but the crash came shortly after drone strikes hit southern Russia. Drone activity has shut down airports in the area in the past and the nearest Russian airport on the plane's flight path was closed on Wednesday morning.

On Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the cause of the crash is under investigation. He told reporters that "it would be wrong to make hypotheses before investigators make their verdict," the Associated Press reported. 

Kazakhstan’s parliamentary Speaker Maulen Ashimbayev also warned against rushing to conclusions based on pictures of the plane’s fragments, describing the allegations of air defense fire as unfounded and "unethical."

Other officials in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have likewise declined to comment on the cause of the crash and pointed to the ongoing investigations for answers, according to the AP.

MORE THAN 30 DEAD IN BRAZIL BUS AND TRUCK COLLISION

Earlier, Ukrainian national security official Andriy Kovalenko blamed a "Russian air-defense system" for the crash in an X post on Wednesday.

"However, admitting this is inconvenient for everyone, so efforts will be made to cover it up, even the holes in the remaining parts of the aircraft," Kovalenko claimed. 

Aviation-security firm Osprey Flight Solutions also said the flight was "likely shot down by a Russian military air-defense sytem," the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday night.

"Video of the wreckage and the circumstances around the airspace security environment in southwest Russia indicates the possibility the aircraft was hit by some form of antiaircraft fire," Matt Borie, Osprey's chief intelligence officer, said in an interview.

MALAYSIA AGREES TO RESUME 'NO FIND, NO FEE' HUNT FOR FLIGHT MH370, 10 YEARS AFTER PLANE DISAPPEARED

Russia's aviation watchdog, meanwhile, said it was an emergency that may have been caused by a bird strike.

The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Azerbaijan observed a national day of mourning on Thursday for the 38 victims of the plane crash. National flags were lowered across the country, traffic stopped at noon and signals were sounded from ships and trains as the people observed a nationwide moment of silence, the AP reported.

"We will never forget the beloved people we lost in the crash of the ‘Embraer-190’ aircraft," Azerbaijan Airlines said in a statement Thursday. "This loss left a deep wound in the heart of an entire community. It reminds us to be more compassionate and connected to one another." 

"May the souls of those who tragically lost their lives rest in peace, and may their memory live on forever."