The Taiwanese airline TransAsia Airways flight GE222,
with 58 on board, crashed near Magong airport on the outlying Penghu Island
after having requested a second attempt to land.
More than 50 people were killed in a
plane crash in Taiwan on Wednesday, officials said, with local television
reporting the flight had smashed into two houses after an aborted landing.
Television images showed
firefighters working at site of the mangled wreckage and soldiers on the scene.
There were conflicting reports of the death toll from officials and local
media.
"The control tower lost contact with the aircraft
soon after they requested a go-around (second attempt to land)," Chen told
reporters. The commercial domestic flight was carrying 54 passengers and four crew,
officials said.
Read more: Plane crashes in Taiwan