China Airlines flight crashes into sea

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

There were no immediate reports of survivors.

Flight CI611 took off at about 2.40pm (0740 Irish time) from Taipei’s international airport and was reported missing at about 3.30pm (0830 Irish time)) near Penghu, a group of islands off Taiwan’s western coast, said Kuo Yao-chi, a government official investigating the missing plane.

Yu Shyi-kun told reporters at the airport that the plane crashed and rescue aircraft had spotted life jackets floating near Penghu.

About 220 passengers and crew were on the Boeing 747, TVBS cable news reported.

ETTV cable news quoted Penghu residents as saying they saw bodies floating in the water.

China Airlines, Taiwan’s biggest airline, did not immediately comment on the report, but the airline has joined the government in forming an emergency task force to search for the plane.

Due to a series of crashes in the 1990s, China Airlines used to be considered one of the world’s most dangerous airlines. But in recent years, the carrier has reshuffled its board and has put a greater emphasis on safety.

The last known fatal China Airlines accident was in 1999 when a jet flipped over and burst into flames during a crash landing in Hong Kong, killing three people.

According to the aviation safety website, Airsafe.com, China Airlines has had nine fatal accidents since 1970.