A TransAsia airways ATR-72 has reportedly crashed in Taiwan, killing 47 and injuring 11. The plane was coming in for an emergency landing, according to Taiwan News, though it is unclear as of now whether or not the plane crashed due to stormy weather in the wake of Typhoon Matmo.
The number of dead and injured has repeatedly changed throughout the night, as the chaos immediately surrounding the crash of Flight GE 222 unfolded. Even more tragically, the loss of life may exceed just the passengers on the plane, as it came down in a populated area in the county of Penghu:
A first attempt at landing reportedly failed, and the pilot then made a request to make a second try, reports said. Shortly later, the control tower lost contact with the flight, reports said.
The plane reportedly smashed hard into the ground in the township of Huhsi, causing a fire involving two homes. Online pictures showed a heavily damaged house and wreckage from the plane.
This is not the first crash of a TransAsia Airways ATR-72, as cargo Flight 791 came down due to a combination of icing and human error in 2002. Two crew members were killed in that incident.
More as we have it.
UPDATE: Taiwan's transportation minister, Yeh Kuang-shih, said that the latest figures stand at 47 dead, and 11 injured. This post has been updated accordingly.
Photo credit: Michel Teiten