Seventy Killed in Singapore Airlines Plane Crash

At least 70 people were killed when a Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400 jet crashed in typhoon winds and burst into flames on takeoff at Taipei international airport Tuesday night, a Taiwanese aviation officials said Wednesday.

According to the latest news reaching here Wednesday, 58 people were injured and are being treated in hospitals and 44 people without injury have gone to a hotel. But there are seven others still missing.

A Boeing 747-400 of the Singapore Airlines with 159 passengers and 20 crew members aboard, speeding down a runway in darkness and rain slammed into an object before takeoff for Los Angeles and burst into flames, scattering fiery wreckage across the tarmac.

According to a spokesman for Singapore Airlines, the passengers are 55 Taiwanese, 47 Americans, 11 Singaporeans, 11 Indians, 8 Malaysians, 5 Indonesians, 4 Mexicans, 4 British, two each from Thailand, New Zealand and Vietnam and one each from Australia, Canada, Cambodia, Germany Japan, Philippines, Ireland and the Canary Islands, part of Spain.

It was Singapore Airlines' first major accident in 28 years of operation.



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