[K-Blast]

Tragedy struck on Wednesday night when a plane attempting to land during stormy weather crashed just outside an airport on the small Taiwanese island of Penghu. Taiwan's Transport Minister, Yeh Kuang-shih, reported that 47 people are trapped and feared dead as a result of the crash. Additionally, 11 individuals sustained injuries in the incident.

The ill-fated flight was operated by Taiwan's TransAsia Airways, an ATR-72 twin-engine turboprop plane en route from Kaohsiung, a southern Taiwanese city, to Penghu. The crash occurred during the plane's second landing attempt, with a total of 58 passengers and crew members on board, according to Minister Yeh.

In the wake of the tragic incident, President Ma Ying-jeou expressed his condolences, labeling it "a very sad day in the history of Taiwanese aviation." He urged authorities to promptly investigate the details surrounding the crash.

The plane went down in the village of Xixi, just outside the airport. Photos from local media depicted firefighters using flashlights to survey the wreckage amid the darkness, with buildings and vehicles damaged by debris.

To aid in the rescue efforts, approximately 200 military personnel were dispatched to the crash site, as reported by Taiwanese Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Luo Shou-he. Military vehicles and ambulances were used to transport victims to hospitals, while an air force rescue team remained on standby to transfer survivors to Taiwan's main island for treatment if necessary.

The flight, identified as GE222, took off from Kaohsiung at 4:53 p.m. local time, bound for Magong on Penghu, according to Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration. Communication with the control tower was lost at 7:06 p.m. after the plane announced its intention to make a second landing attempt. Visibility during the approach was reportedly 1 mile (1,600 meters), meeting landing standards, and two other flights had successfully landed before GE222, one at 5:34 p.m. and the other at 6:57 p.m. The aircraft involved was a 14-year-old ATR-72.

However, the Central News Agency, citing the county fire department, suggested that heavy rain had reduced visibility, compelling the pilot to abort the initial landing and make a second attempt. Initial reports from the news agency had indicated that 51 people had lost their lives in the crash.

Taiwan had recently been impacted by Typhoon Matmo, which struck overnight on Tuesday, and the Central Weather Bureau had warned of heavy rain on Wednesday evening, even after the storm had moved westward toward mainland China.

The general manager of TransAsia Airways, Hsu Yi-Tsung, expressed his deep apologies for the tragic accident, bowing deeply before reporters and shedding tears as he addressed the media.