Taipei, July 23 – Several news channel reported that a Trans Asia Airways plane has crashed while negotiating an emergency landing.
The plane, a 70-seat ATR 72, crashed near the runway on the island of Penghu, west of the mainland, with 54 passengers and four crew on board media reports said.
Seven injured people on the plane have been taken to the hospital.
The aircraft took off from Taiwan’s southern city of Kaohsiung and was heading for the island of Makong, but crashed while landing in Huxi township of Penghu.
Initial reports indicate that thunderstorms were the reasons behind the plane’s crash landing.
The crash resulted in fire which engulfed nearby buildings but was swiftly extinguished by fire-fighters. About 100 fire-fighters have been sent to the scene in addition to 152 military 255 police personnel.
A Typhoon nicknamed Matmo slammed into Taiwan on Wednesday, bringing heavy rain and strong winds, shutting financial markets and schools. It passed the island and headed into China, downgraded from typhoon to tropical storm.
TransAsia Airways is a Taiwan-based airline with a fleet of around 23 Airbus and ATR aircraft, operating chiefly short-haul flights on domestic routes as well as to mainland China, Japan, Thailand and Cambodia.
