GE222 Taiwan plane crash: What we do and do not know

A TransAsia plane has crashed in Taiwan, killing dozens of people on board.

What we know

TransAsia plane GE222 has crash landed near Magong airport, on the island of Penghu, 30 miles off the west coast of Taiwan.

Dozens are feared dead although an exact death toll has not officially been confirmed.

TransAsia is a small Taiwanese carrier which operates mainly in southwest Asia.

Taiwan has been suffering bad weather this week from Typhoon Matmo and the Central Weather Bureau was advising of heavy rain through the evening, according to the Associated Press.

What is being reported

Taiwan's Central News Agency said the plane crashed in an emergency landing, with 47 of the 58 on board the twin-engine turboprop aircraft feared dead. They had earlier cited a local fire officer who stated that 51 were feared dead.

"The control tower lost contact with the aircraft soon after they requested a go-around (a second attempt to land)," Shen Ching, the country's head of civil aviation, told reporters.

Taiwan's Transport Minister Yeh Kuang-shih was quoted by the agency as saying another 11 people were injured after the plane crashed and caught fire while making a second landing attempt, according to the Associated Press.

What is being claimed online

China's People's Daily tweeted several pictures supposedly from the scene.

CCTV News, an English-language Chinese news channel then posted these photos, reportedly from the scene:

This video of rescuers arriving at the scene was also posted by CCTV News.