A TransAsia Airways passenger plane crashed on a small Taiwanese island on Wednesday after attempting to make an emergency landing in typhoon conditions.
Taiwan's transport minister says 47 people are trapped and feared dead, and seven injured have been rushed to area hospitals.
Images from the airport showed a handful of firefighters using flashlights to sift through the wreckage in the darkness.
Local television is showing live video (below) amid rescue attempts at the crash site.
This image is being shared among Taiwanese Twitter users purporting to show the crash site of TransAsia flight #GE222 pic.twitter.com/MntQ984NCC— Brian Rie$ (@moneyries) July 23, 2014
TransAsia flight GE222, which was reportedly carrying more than 50 people, was attempting a go-around at Magong Airport before losing contact with the control tower and crashing on the island of Penghu. It had departed Kaohsiung International Airport with 54 passengers and 4 crew on a twin-engine turboprop ATR 72-600.
The tiny island is located west of the main island of Taiwan. Flights to Penghu generally take between 30 to 45 minutes.
Typhoon Matmo, packing sustained winds of 85 mph, was approaching Taiwan and forecast to hit its east-central coast Wednesday morning. Torrential rains, exceeding 7.8 inches over 24 hours, were forecast for virtually the entire island. Some areas of Taiwan are mountainous and prone to mudslides.
Unbelievably, this was the radar near the time of the crash of this plane in Taiwan. pic.twitter.com/Lr2xFM5OBF— Anthony Sagliani (@anthonywx) July 23, 2014
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Shanghaiist's Kenneth Tan is covering the plane crash. He's given us permission to include it below. Follow here for updates.
[View the story "BREAKING: TransAsia plane crashes in Penghu Islands, 51 dead" on Storify]