51 dead in Taiwan plane emergency landing

AT least 51 people are feared to have been killed after an aeroplane crashed into residential buildings in Taiwan while attempting an emergency landing.

An ATR 72 aircraft similar to the one that has crashed. Picture: Contributed

TransAsia Airways flight GE222 had taken off from Kaohsiung Siaogang Airport around 5pm local time, and was scheduled to land at Penghu’s Magong Airport at 5.30pm.

Taiwanese transportation officials said the plane had caught fire after attempting the emergency landing ‘at the end of a runway.’

The news agency cited the head of the fire department in the county of Penghu as saying that seven people were injured in the crash.

The flight - operated by Taiwanese airline TransAsia Airways - crashed with 54 passengers and four flight crew on board, according to the Civil Aviation Administration.

Four children are believed to be among the passengers.

The plane appears to be an ATR 72 aircraft; a twin-engined turboprop aircraft used for short-haul flights.