UPDATED: A plane crash in bad weather in Phuket. At this point 87 dead, 42 injured. The plane split so the survivors seem to have been in the tail section.
Thai plane crash in Phuket kills 88
A budget airliner crashed on the Thai resort island of Phuket on Sunday, killing 88 people as it broke up and burst into flames while trying to land in driving rain, a senior official said.
Forty two people were injured, Phuket deputy governor Vorapot Rajsima told a news conference, and a hospital official said at least five of the survivors were seriously hurt.
Flight manifests at Phuket airport suggested well over half the 123 passengers on the flight from the Thai capital were foreign and an Airports of Thailand official in Bangkok said most of the foreigners were European holidaymakers.
There were seven crew members on board. Earlier reports had said there were five.
Eight Britons, eight Thais, five Germans and two Australians were among 42 known survivors, hospital workers said.
"The plane looks as though it veered off the runway into the side of a hill," said Leslie Quahe, a Singaporean pastor who arrived at the scene about an hour after the crash.
"I was coming down the hill and saw smoke coming from the plane. It had broken into several parts," Quahe told Reuters.
Officials said the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 had broken in two on impact on landing on the Andaman Sea paradise isle, which was hit by the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
The tail section of the One-Two-Go flight lay on the runway and the rest was among the trees lining it.
"I'm deeply sorry about this tragic event," Udom Tantiprasongchai, chairman of Orient Thai Airlines which operates the low cost airline, told reporters, promising a full investigation.
Plane Crash At Thai Airport
A plane has crashed during an attempted landing at Phuket airport in Thailand, it is reported.
There was heavy rain when the Orient Thai Airways plane ditched.
It is unclear whether anyone has been killed or injured.
Chaisak Angsuwan, director general of the Air Transport Authority of Thailand, said: "The visibility was poor as the pilot attempted to land.
"He decided to make a go-around but the plane lost balance and crashed. It was torn into two parts."
The plane was travelling from Bangkok to Phuket.
Phuket plane crash
A passenger jet of One-To-Go Airlines with 128 people aboard crashed while landing at Phuket Airport in southern Thailand late Sunday afternoon and rescue workers said the death toll could be high.
The plane skidded off the runway after landing and crashed into trees, bursting into fire, said Channel 7 TV.
Initial reports estimated that at least 60 passengers died in the fiery accident.
Airport officials and rescue workers are still working to help the victims from the plane which caught fire after it crashlanded and skidded off the runway.
Authorities said there were 123 passengers and five crew members on board when the plane crashed at about 4pm Sunday afternoon.
Weather in Phuket has been bad for several days, with thunderstorms and high wind gusts at times.
Jet crashes in Phuket, Thailand--reports
A passenger jet operated by Thai budget carrier One-Two-Go has crashed upon landing on Thailand's resort island of Phuket in bad weather, news reports said Sunday.
"The airplane asked to land but due to the weather in Phuket -- strong wind and heavy rain -- maybe the pilot did not see the runway clearly," civil aviation official Chiasak Angkauwan told TiTV news channel.
"The plane then fell onto the runway and broke into two. It is expected that there will be deaths."
He said the plane was an MD-80 operated by One-Two-Go, one of Thailand's budget carriers.
Plane breaks in two after crash at Phuket Airport
An airliner exploded and broke in two after it slid off the runway and crashed into nearby walls at Phuket airport on Sunday afternoon.
Some reports put the death toll at about 60, but this has yet to be confirmed. The nationalities of those onboard is also unknown, but Phuket is a highly popular destination for overseas tourists.
The airliner services Bangkok-Phuket flights six times a week. The ill-fated airline left Don Muang airport at about 2.30pm.
Information now coming in said the plane, which was being used by local budget travel company, One-to-Go Airline, had 123 passengers and five crew.
The aircraft, flight number OG 269, landed at Phuket airport at about 3.40pm from Bangkok and was taxiing along the runway when it went into a slide. Phuket had earlier been hit by heavy rains.
It crashed into trees and walls surrounding the airport.
Eye-witnesses said the impact of the crash caused the plane to break in two and they heard a series of explosions.
Rescue teams and navy personnel rushed to the scene.
