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September 3, 2012

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Missing plane occupants dead

THREE people onboard an aerial surveying plane that went missing last Thursday in eastern mountain areas in Taiwan have been found, rescuers said yesterday, but indicated that all had died in the crash.

The news will devastate relatives who were told on Saturday that the plane had been found largely intact and that the passengers might have survived.

The plane took off from Taipei for southeastern Taitung City on Thursday morning, Taiwan's aviation authorities said.

It conducted a survey in eastern Yilan and Hualien counties and was expected to land in Taitung. But it went missing after sending out a distress call in an area between Hualien and Taitung.

A rescue team using another aerial surveying plane spotted the missing aircraft on Saturday morning in an area some 30 kilometers west of Yuli Township in Hualien County.

The plane had landed on top of trees and bushes and was largely intact, but there was no sign of the two pilots and a survey technician on board.

Dapeng Airlines, which owned the missing plane, said a photo of the scene appeared to show that the plane, with no signs of impact, had made an emergency landing, and it was hoped the missing passengers would be found alive.

Many areas of Taiwan were still under the influence of Typhoon Tembin on Thursday when the plane went missing. Weather forecasts showed that thunderstorms were expected in some parts of Hualien, Taitung and Nantou counties.

It is too early to say whether the accident is linked to technical failure or bad weather.




 

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