Photograph by Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images
A regional flight crashed on Wednesday on an island off Taiwan's west coast, hours after a typhoon swept across the nation. The number of fatalities was not immediately clear.
Flight GE 222 was making a second attempt to land at Magong Airport on the island of Penghu. The ATR-72 turboprop plane carried 54 passengers and four crew members, according to Taiwan's civil aviation authorities. Early reports of the number of dead varied, from 41 to 51. The Straits Times reported that 47 people died and 11 were injured, citing Taiwan Transport Minister Yeh Kuang-shih.
The flight from Kaohsiung was attempting to land during stormy weather related to Typhoon Matmo, which struck Taiwan on Tuesday and had moved west to mainland China at the time of the crash. Some parts of Taiwan received more than 18 inches of rain, with wind gusts well over 100 mph, according to the Weather Channel.
TransAsia, a Taipei-based carrier, focuses mostly on domestic flights.
Entities 0 Name: Taiwan Count: 5 1 Name: Sam Yeh\/AFP Count: 1 2 Name: TransAsia Count: 1 3 Name: Straits Times Count: 1 4 Name: Penghu Count: 1 5 Name: China Count: 1 6 Name: Yeh Kuang-shih Count: 1 7 Name: Kaohsiung Count: 1 8 Name: Matmo Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1n8bQ7Y Title: Typhoon Matmo threatens mudslides in Taiwan Description: (CNN) -- Typhoon Matmo has slammed in Taiwan, bringing heavy rain, strong winds and the threat of landslides on the mountainous island. Winds traveling at up to 64 knots (33 meters per second) swept over the territory, downing trees, cutting electricity and sending water gushing over roads.
