51 Feared Dead in Taiwan Plane Crash
Fifty-one passengers including four children are feared dead after a TransAsia Airways ATR turboprop aircraft crashed on the island of Penghu.
Local residents reported flames around the aircraft. The Civil Aviation Administration of Taiwan is reporting that the accident lead to the deaths of 51 passengers, while 7 others were injured. The small island of Penghu is located in the Taiwan Strait halfway in between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.
Penghu is a lightly populated island with only about two flights per day to Taipei. Images taken at the airport showed firefighters sifting through the wreckage with flashlights in search of signs of life. Typhoon Matmo swept across Taiwan early on Tuesday morning. The Central Weather Bureau reported heavy rain throughout the evening although the centre of the storm had already shifted to the Chinese mainland.
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| Image Source: RadarBox24 |
The Taiwanese airliner was scheduled to depart from Kaohsiung Airport in Taipei at 4:00pm with 54 passengers and 4 crew on board. However, the flight bound for the island of Penghu, was delayed until 5:43pm due to bad weather caused by Typhoon Matmo.
At 7:06pm, TransAsia Airways flight GE222 requested a second landing attempt at Penghu after the first attempt failed due to stormy weather conditions. But the flight subsequently lost contact with the control tower and the aircraft was later discovered crashed near the village of Xicun.
At 7:06pm, TransAsia Airways flight GE222 requested a second landing attempt at Penghu after the first attempt failed due to stormy weather conditions. But the flight subsequently lost contact with the control tower and the aircraft was later discovered crashed near the village of Xicun.
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| Image Source: South China Morning Post |
Penghu is a lightly populated island with only about two flights per day to Taipei. Images taken at the airport showed firefighters sifting through the wreckage with flashlights in search of signs of life. Typhoon Matmo swept across Taiwan early on Tuesday morning. The Central Weather Bureau reported heavy rain throughout the evening although the centre of the storm had already shifted to the Chinese mainland.
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