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70 killed in Taipei crash, 11 Indians among passengers

A Singapore Airlines jumbo jet speeding down a runway in darkness and rain slammed into an object before takeoff for Los Angeles and burst into flames on Tuesday at the Chiang Kai Shek international airport in Taipei, Taiwan.

There were 11 Indians on board. At least 70 people were killed and dozens more were injured, a Taiwanese official said.

It wasn't immediately clear what Flight SQ006 hit, but the collision wreaked havoc on the plane: video footage showed the Boeing 747-400 spewing flames and thick black smoke.

Rescue officials have recovered one of the black box recorders of the jet.

Taiwanese aviation official Billy K C Chang said 70 people died in the mishap. Earlier, Singapore Airlines Chairman Michael Fam had said 66 people were killed.

Speaking in Singapore, Fam said the plane "crashed on the runway during the takeoff."

James Boyd, spokesman for Singapore Airlines in Los Angeles, said the nationality breakdown of passengers was: 55 Taiwanese, 47 Americans, 11 Singaporeans, 11 Indians, 8 Malaysians, 5 Indonesians, 4 Mexicans, 4 British, 2 each from Thailand, New Zealand and Vietnam and 1 each from Australia, Canada, Cambodia, Germany, Japan, Philippines, Ireland and the Canary Islands, part of Spain.

"It felt like we bumped into something huge," said Doug Villermin, 33, of New Iberia, LA. "It looked like the front end just fell off. From there, it just started to fall apart. I ran to the escape hatch with the stewardess but we couldn't get it open. Two feet away from me, I saw flames."

It was Singapore Airlines' first major accident in 28 years of operation, and it came in nasty weather: A typhoon packing 90 mph winds was whirling off Taiwan's southern coast, lashing the island with rain and prompting officials to set up disaster relief centres.

"We wish to express our sincere regret to all concerned," Fam said. "This is a tragic day for all of us."

Villermin and two other survivors said they felt the plane slam into something on the runway while trying to take off. Airline officials said the pilot, Captain C K Foong, also reported hitting an object, but no one offered an explanation of what it might have been.

A China Airways official denied initial reports that the jumbo jet had hit one of its planes on the ground.

"The left wing seemed to hit something and then it was just a big roller-coaster ride," said survivor Steven Courtney of Britain.

But Clements, the airline spokesman, said: "We should wait for the investigations."

In Singapore, officials have set up a crisis management centre at Changi airport.

In Washington, the National Transportation Safety Board said it is sending a team of investigators to help Taiwan authorities probe the disaster.

In Hyderabad, from where most of the Indian passengers boarded an Air-India flight to Singapore where they were put on the SA flight, the state government has set up a cell headed by G Sadanandam, special officer (protocol), for the assistance of family members of the victims.

He is available on telephone number 784 3710 or on his mobile: 98480-44745.

Agencies

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