A Hong Kong-bound China Airlines jet broke up into four parts in the sky before crashing into the Taiwan Strait with 225 people on board, the chief Taiwanese crash investigator said today.

More than 200 people are feared dead after a plane crashed into the sea off Taiwan.

A China Airlines flight to Hong Kong crashed today in the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan prime minister Yu Shyi-kun said.

A China Airlines flight with 222 people on board has been reported missing for nearly an hour, it was reported today.