More than 40 killed in Taiwan plane crash

Published July 23, 2014 9:27pm

(Updated 1:00 a.m. July 24, 2014) TAIPEI - A domestic TransAsia Airways plane crashed on landing on an island off the west coast of typhoon-hit Taiwan on Wednesday, killing 47 people, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said.

No Filipinos were on the flight, according to Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) representative Atty. Lyn Perez.

The plane, a 70-seat turboprop ATR Model 72, crashed near the runway with 54 passengers and four crew on board, it said.

"It's chaotic on the scene," director Jean Shen told Reuters.

The accident happened on one of the Penghu islands, also known as the Pescadores. No more details were immediately available.

Typhoon Matmo slammed into Taiwan on Wednesday with heavy rains and strong winds, shutting financial markets and schools.

TransAsia Airways is a Taiwan-based airline with a fleet of around 23 Airbus and ATR aircraft, flying chiefly on domestic routes, but with some flights to Japan, Thailand and Cambodia among its Asian destinations.

According to Agence France-Presse, authorities said the plane, carrying 58 people including four crew, crashed near the airport on the outlying Penghu island.

"Fifty-one people are feared dead and seven people injured," Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration Shen Chi told reporters, but the local fire chief put the death toll at 45. — with reports from dzbb, Reuters and Agence France-Presse/NB/ELR GMA News

Tags: planecrash, taiwan, taiwanplanecrash