A Singapore Airlines' Boeing 747-400 jetliner, carrying 159 passengers and 20 crew, bound for Los Angeles, crashed shortly after takeoff at CKS International Airport at 11:18pm last night.
As of press time, however, there were no definite figures concerning deaths or serious injuries from the accident.
PHOTO: TONY YAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Windshear apparently caused the plane to lose altitude upon takeoff. It then crashed, and reportedly exploded and caught fire.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
There was an explosion as the plane struck a China Airlines plane on the runway, emergency official Wu Bi-chang said.
The Singapore flight was reported to be flight SQ006, originating in Singapore and bound for the US west coast, scheduled to depart CKS at 10:55pm and arrive in Los Angeles at 6:15pm today.
There were 81 Taiwanese passengers aboard.
Some injured passengers were rushed to Tayuan Hospital, close by the airport.
The accident took place as Typhoon Xangsane was approaching Taiwan causing high winds and heavy rain islandwide.
James Boyd, Singapore airlines spokesman, speaking from Los Angeles, told the Fox News Channel that there were no fatalities, but there were about 30 injuries.
Most of the injuries did not appear serious, officials in Taipei said.
After the crash, the plane's blue fuselage appeared badly burned, with a gaping hole in the roof.
John Diaz, a passenger on the flight, told CNN the flames "shot up right next to me" as the plane tried to take off. He said there was ``heavy, heavy rain'' at the time.
"When I got the airport conditions were so bad, and I asked them, `is the flight going to take off?'" Diaz said. "And they said, `we do this all the time, it's fine.'"
Diaz disputed the claim that their were no deaths.
"There had to be fatalities," he said. Describing the crash, he said there was a loud bang. "And then there were flames just all over the place. Flames shot up right next to me and some some poor fellow not very far from me got I guess jet fuel splashed on him, because he just lit up like a torch.
"There were a lot of cuts, there were a lots of burns. One gentleman...was severely, severely, severely burned. There were a lot of burns because there was jet fuel all over the place."
Another passenger was quoted as saying he saw a woman die of her injuries in hospital.
The Veterans General Hospital reported at around 1:45 pm that one passenger had died of her injuries.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
RSS