At least 42 killed in Taiwan plane crash
At least 42 people have been killed in a plane crash in Taiwan, officials said, with witnesses and local media reporting the flight came down in a storm after an aborted landing.
Eleven people were reported to have survived, while two French nationals had been confirmed as being on board.
TransAsia Airways flight GE222 was carrying 58 people on a domestic flight when it crashed into houses near Magong airport on the Penghu island chain after requesting a second attempt to land there, local media reported.
The ATR 72-500 twin turboprop was flying from the southwestern city of Kaohsiung to the islands off the west coast and had been delayed due to bad weather as Typhoon Matmo pounded Taiwan, according to the authorities.
"We have found 42 bodies and some body parts so far," an official surnamed Tsai at the Penghu county fire department told AFP early on Thursday.
Television images showed firefighters working in heavy rain to douse the mangled plane.
"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 earlier.
Two French nationals were on board the plane and the de facto French embassy had been notified, Yeh said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties on the ground after the plane smashed into houses in the village of Sisi, a couple of kilometres from Magong airport.
Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration director general Shen Chi earlier said 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.
Local fire chief Hung Yung-peng told TVBS there were 11 survivors, with all others on board feared dead.
"We rushed 12 people to hospitals soon after our arrival," Hung said.
"One died at the hospital."
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, while the airline's president Chooi Yee-choong bowed in front of television cameras to apologise for the accident.
Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou's office said in a statement that it was a "very sad day in Taiwan's aviation history" and instructed relevant units to clarify the case soon.
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