Video Report: 48 killed in Taiwan plane crash
July 24, 2014
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The ATR-72 operated by Taiwan's TransAsia Airways was carrying 58 passengers and crew when it crashed on Penghu in the Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and China, authorities said. The plane was arriving from the city of Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan.
Two people aboard the plane were French citizens and the rest Taiwanese, Transport Minister Yeh Kuang-shih told reporters. The government's Central News Agency identified the French passengers Thursday as Jeromine Deramond and Penelope Luternauer.
The twin-engine turboprop crashed while making a second landing attempt, Yeh said.
The crash of flight GE222 was Taiwan's first fatal air accident in 12 years and came after Typhoon Matmo passed across the island, causing heavy rains that continued into Wednesday night. Some 200 airline flights had been canceled earlier in the day due to rain and strong winds.
Seen in a raining downpour, a vehicle is covered in rubble from the wreckage from a Taiwan domestic airliner that crashed while attempting to land in stormy weather on the Taiwan island of Penghu July 23, 2014.
Injured passengers were taken to Penghu Hospital, and TransAsia Airways established an emergency response center, according to a statement issued by the airline.
The president of TransAsia Airways, Chooi Yee-choong, appeared briefly at a news conference and bowed in front of news cameras. He choked up as he expressed his sorrow to passengers' families and the public. "I sincerely apologize," he said.
Before Flight GE222 took off from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, it had been delayed because of conditions related to a typhoon, the airline said. The plane was a 72-seat twin-engine turboprop ATR 72.
"TransAsia Airways is exhausting all means to assist passengers, victims and families" and working with investigators, its statement read.
One of the plane's flight data recorders was recovered, and investigators will examine the crash site Thursday, the minister said.
The plane crashed near Magong Airport at about 7 p.m., according to CNA. Witnesses told ETTV that they saw homes on fire.
The cause of the crash is unknown.
Some media reports said strong winds from Typhoon Matmo, which hit Taiwan early Wednesday, forced the plane to attempt a crash landing.
Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration director, Jean Shen told reporters that visibility at Magong Airport at the time of the plane's attempted landing was about 1,600 meters (1 mile) and considered acceptable for landing.
The Penghu Islands are off the west coast of the main Taiwanese island.