At least 47 people were feared killed in a Taiwan plane crash that happened near Magong Airport on Penghu Island, a
BBC online report stated today.
The ATR 72 turboprop aircraft crashed at a village named Xixi, which is very near Magong Airport, after its failed attempts at an emergency landing.
The domestic TransAsia Airways plane departed from the southern municipality of Kaohsiung at 0943 GMT (1743 local time). Still, contact with the control was lost in 1906, CNA said, citing the Civil Aeronautics Administration.
The aircraft caught fire just after it crashed, the report said.
A total of 54 passengers and four crews were on board at the time of the crash, Taiwan’s CNA news agency reported.
“It was thunderstorm condition during the crash”, a fire department official said. Earlier on Wednesday, Taiwan was hit by a Typhoon name Matmo by its strong winds and rain.
The defence department had dispatched 200 troops, eight ambulances, and two fire trucks to the scene, Taiwan’s Now News reported.
