TAIPEI // At least 42 people were feared dead in a plane crash in Taiwan on Wednesday, with witnesses and local media reporting the flight came down in a storm after an aborted landing.
Taiwan’s transport minister said 10 bodies had so far been recovered from the wreckage of the domestic flight, which had 58 people on board.
Local media reported that TransAsia Airways flight GE222 had smashed into two houses near Magong airport on the Penghu islands off the southwest coast after requesting a second attempt to land there.
The twin turboprop plane was flying from the southwestern city of Kaohsiung to the islands and had been delayed due to bad weather as Typhoon Matmo pounded Taiwan.
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... 12 were injured and were sent to hospitals while 46 were missing,” transport minister Yeh Kuang-shih said.
“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 had been notified, Mr Yeh said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties on the ground.
Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration director general Shen Chi earlier said 51 were feared dead in the crash. He 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],” Mr Shen.
The plane had requested a second attempt to land at just after 7 pm (3 pm UAE time).
Local fire chief Hung Yung-peng said there were 11 survivors, with all others on board feared dead.
“The weather was bad and some witnesses said there were storms and lightning when the plane went down,” said Mr Hung.
“We rushed 12 people to hospitals soon after our arrival. One died at the hospital. We kept searching for the other passengers from the wreckage but with more and more bodies pulled out, I’m afraid the rest of them might be dead,” he said.
Several television stations also quoted witnesses saying the plane was on fire before it crashed.
Television footage showed anxious relatives of passengers gathered at TransAsia’s counter at Kaohsiung airport, with one woman sitting on the floor and wailing after she could not get in touch with her daughter.
TransAsia Airways president Chooi Yee-choong bowed in front of television cameras to apologise for the accident.
An airline official identified the pilot as 60-year-old Lee Yi-liang and co-pilot as Chiang Kuan-hsin, 39, saying they had both accumulated more than 20,000 flight hours throughout their careers.
“He worked so hard to become a pilot, who can give me my brother back,” Mr Chiang’s sister said.
President Ma Ying-jeou’s office said in a statement that it was “a very sad day in Taiwan’s aviation history”.
“All Taiwanese people feel the sorrow and will provide the survivors and families of the deceased the biggest support and assistance,” the statement said.
“President Ma Ying-jeou is very saddened... and has instructed relevant units to clarify the case soon.”
Premier Jiang Yi-huah said the government would spare no effort to assist the injured and families of the deceased and that the military would also assist in the search.
TransAsia, Taiwan’s first private airline, also flies to China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam and is due to launch the island’s first low-cost airline later this year.
* Agence France-Presse
