DHAKA: Forty-eight people died and ten people were injured after a TransAsia Airways flight crashed on the outlying island county of Penghu Wednesday, the airline confirmed Thursday morning.
The 58 people on board included two foreigners, the airline said in a statement. The two -- Jeromine Deramond and Penelope Luternauer -- were believed to be French nationals.
TransAsia Airways provided the numbers after some confusion overnight over the number of people on board.
Another list showing the names of the injured did not include those of the foreign passengers. The pilot and the co-pilot were not on the list, either. Family members of the victims have taken a charter flight at 6 a.m. to Magong airport, where the accident took place, it said.
The ATR-72 aircraft crashed into a residential neighborhood after an apparent failed attempt to land at the airport. The airline said it has decided to offer each family of the victim NT$200,000 (US$6,600), while the deceased would get another NT$800,000 funeral subsidy.
TransAsia said the pilot, Lee Yi-liang, had a flight operation experience of 22 years, while that of co-pilot Chiang Kuan-hsing was 25 years. The flight, coded GE 222, took off from Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan for the half-hour flight and crashed at about 7 p.m. when Penghu was still under the influence of Typhoon Matmo.
Source: taiwannews.com
** 47 dead as plane makes crash landing in Taiwan
BDST: 1006 HRS, JUL 24, 2014
