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.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
DEFENSIVE EDGE: The liaison officer would work with Taiwan on drones and military applications for other civilian-developed technologies, a source said A Pentagon unit tasked with facilitating the US military’s adoption of new technology is soon to deploy officials to dozens of friendly nations, including Taiwan, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is to send a representative to collaborate with Taiwan on drones and military applications from the semiconductor industry by the end of the year, the British daily reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “Drones will certainly be a focus, but they will also be looking at connecting to the broader civilian and dual-use ecosystem, including the tech sector,” one source was