A China Airlines flight to Hong Kong with 225 people on board
crashed Saturday afternoon over the Taiwan Straits, the airline and
officials said. There were no immediate reports of survivors.
Flight CI611 took off about 2:40 p.m. (0640 GMT) from Taipei's
international airport and was reported missing about 3:30 p.m.
(0730GMT) near Penghu, said Kuo Yao-chi, a Taiwan official
investigating the crashed plane.
The Boeing 747-200 was carrying 206 passengers and 19 crew, Chang
Chia-chu, a transportation official, said at a news conference.
Things such as the plane's cabin door, life jackets and other
things related to the crash were being discovered,'' Chang
said.
There was a large oil slick about 20 nautical miles (36 kilometers)
northeast of Penghu, Chang said.
ETTV cable news quoted Penghu fishermen as saying they saw bodies
floating in the water.
China Airlines official Wang Cheng-yu confirmed at a news
conference that the plane crashed near Penghu. He said that the
Boeing 747-200, built in 1979, was the last plane of its kind in
the airline's fleet.
Taiwan was using ships and helicopters to look for the aircraft, he
said.
Due to a series of crashes in the 1990s, China Airlines --Taiwan's
biggest carrier -- 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
jetliner 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.
(China
Daily May 25, 2002)