At least 42 dead, 11 injured after plane crashes in Taiwan

 

 

 

 

 

A PLANE making a second landing attempt in stormy weather has crashed at an airport on a small Taiwanese island, killing at least 40 people.

More than 40 people are feared dead in a plane crash in Taiwan, with witnesses and local media reporting the flight came down in a storm after an aborted landing.

Ten bodies had so far been recovered from the wreckage of the domestic flight, which had 58 people on board, said Taiwan’s transport minister.

TransAsia Airways flight GE222 smashed into two houses near Magong airport, on the outlying Penghu island chain, after requesting a second attempt to land there, reported local media.

The twin turboprop plane was flying from the southwestern city of Kaohsiung to the island chain further west and had been delayed due to bad weather, according to the authorities.

Television images showed firefighters working in heavy rain to douse the mangled plane and soldiers on the scene.

“There were 58 people on board including four crew members, four children and, so far, according to the information we have, 12 were injured and were sent to hospitals while 46 were missing,” transport minister Yeh Kuang-shih told reporters.

 

 

 

 

“We are not clear about the situation of the 46 people although more than 10 bodies have been found and the search continues,” he said, adding that the cause of the crash was being investigated.

Two French nationals were on board the plane and the de facto French embassy has been notified, Mr Yeh said.

Typhoon Matmo pounded Taiwan with fierce winds and downpours on Wednesday, leaving at least nine people injured.

Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration director general Shen Chi had earlier said that 51 were feared dead in the crash, but later revised the figure to 47.

“The control tower lost contact with the aircraft soon after they requested a go-around (second attempt to land),” Shen told reporters.

The plane had requested a second attempt to land at just after 7pm (9pm AEST).

TransAsia Airways president Chooi Yee-choong bowed in front of television cameras to apologise for the incident.

An airline official speaking on local television identified the pilot as 60-year-old Lee Yi-liang and co-pilot Chiang Kuan-hsin, 39, saying they had each accumulated more than 20,000 flight hours throughout their careers.

At least 42 dead, 11 injured after plane crashes in Taiwan