Taiwan crash leaves 51 dead, 7 injured

TAIPEI: A plane crash in Taiwan has left 51 dead while 7 were injured when a TransAsia ATR-72 crashed into two houses after an aborted landing attempt at Magong airport.

The ill-fated aircraft aborted landing and requested for a second attempt to land, but crashed with 58 people on board.

The official death toll had initially been posted as 45 dead while media outlets were reporting the number to be higher.

AFP adds

Taiwan´s Civil Aeronautics Administration Shen Chi told reporters, "The control tower lost contact with the aircraft soon after they requested a go-around (second attempt to land)," The commercial domestic flight was carrying 54 passengers and four crew, officials said.

The aircraft was flying from Kaohsiung and had been delayed due to bad weather, according to Shen. Typhoon Matmo pounded Taiwan with fierce winds and downpours Wednesday, leaving at least nine people injured.