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TransAsia Airways plane crash kills at least 40 in Taiwan TransAsia Airways plane crash kills at least 40 in Taiwan
(about 3 hours later)
A plane has crashed in a failed landing attempt in Taiwan, with 47 feared dead, local officials have said. A plane has crashed in a failed landing attempt in Taiwan, with 47 feared dead, local officials have said. 
Eleven people are also believed to have been injured in the crash as flight GE222 attempted to land near Magong airport on the Penghu Islands, about 30 minutes off the western coast of Taiwan. Eleven people are also believed to have been injured in the crash outside the village of Xixi, as flight GE222 attempted to land near Magong airport on the Penghu Islands, about 30 minutes off the western coast of Taiwan.
The plane is understood to have been carrying 54 passengers and 4 crew and firefighters are working to free those still trapped on board. Flight GE222, operated by Taiwanese airline TransAsia Airways, left the southern port city of Kaohsiung at 4:53pm with 54 passengers and 4 crew on board.
Taiwan has been blighted by bad weather caused by Typhoon Matmo and the Central Weather Bureau was advising of heavy rain through the evening. On Wednesday evening, firefighters were working to free those still trapped on board. They were later joined by around 200 military personnel, Taiwanese Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Luo Shou-he said.
Taiwan's Transport Minister Yeh Kuang-shih was quoted by the government's Central News Agency as saying 47 people were killed and after the plane crashed and caught fire while making a second landing attempt. The agency had earlier cited a local fire brigade chief who said 51 people had been killed. Military vehicles and ambulances were rushing people to hospitals, and an air force rescue team was on standby to transfer survivors to Taiwan's main island if needed for treatment, according to the defence minsitry. Photos in local media showed firefighters using flashlights to look at wreckage in the darkness, and buildings and cars damaged by debris.
Flight GE222, an ATR-72 aircraft operated by Taiwanese airline TransAsia Airways, was heading from the southern port city of Kaohsiung to the island Penghu, halfway between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan in the Taiwan Strait, according to the news agency. Rescue workers survey the wreckage of TransAsia Airways flight GE222 (AP)
According to reports, the pilot's first landing attempt failed. The plane is then understood to have crashed and caught fire during a second attempt. Taiwan has been blighted by bad weather caused by Typhoon Matmo and the Central Weather Bureau was advising of heavy rain through the evening. But the aviation agency reported that as the plane approached, visibility was 1,600 meters (one mile), which met standards for landing. Two flights had landed prior to GE222, it added.
More follows... However, the county fire department said heavy rain had likely reduced visibility, leading the pilot to make his first, failed, landing attempt. During the second attempt, the aircraft caught fire, according to reports.
Taiwan's Transport Minister, Yeh Kuang-shih, was quoted by the government's Central News Agency as saying 47 people were killed and after the plane crashed. The agency had earlier cited a local fire brigade chief who said 51 people had been killed.
President Ma Ying-jeou called it "a very sad day in the history of Taiwanese aviation" and ordered authorities to quickly clarify the details, said a spokesman for his office, Ma Wei-kuo.
TransAsia Airways' general manager, Hsu Yi-Tsung, tearfully apologized for the accident, and told reporters the carrier was arranging to take the relatives of passengers on the flight to Magong on Thursday morning. The firm would spare no effort in the rescue and in handling the aftermath, he added.Taiwan's last major aviation disaster also was near Penghu. A China Airlines Boeing 747 broke apart in midair in 2002 and crashed into the Taiwan Strait, killing all 225 people aboard. In October 2013, a Lao Airlines ATR-72 crashed during a heavy storm as it approached Pakse Airport in southern Laos, killing all 49 people on board.
Additional reporting by AP