SOUTHEAST ASIA | THAILAND
88 killed in plane crash on Thai resort island Phuket
Foreign tourists are among the dead on Phuket, where the aircraft carrying 130 people broke in two on landing and caught fire.
JAKARTA, INDONESIA, 9:50 AM PDT -- A low-budget airline crashed and burst into flames while landing in heavy rain on Thailand's resort island of Phuket today, killing at least 88 people, including an unknown number of foreign tourists.
The plane, which had taken off from Bangkok carrying 130 passengers and crew, split in two, slid off the runway and caught fire as it crashed into trees around 3:30 p.m., according to local media reports.
At least 29 people survived the crash, according to Thai officials. There were no immediate reports of American casualties.
"The fire was throughout the airplane," Phuket Deputy Gov. Worraphot Ratsrimaa told the Bangkok Post. "We expect that at least 90% of the passengers died."
He told Associated Press that the dead included Irish, Israeli, Australian and British passengers but that it was not immediately clear how many foreigners had died. Survivor Nong Khaonuan told a Thai TV network that "nearly half the passengers were foreign tourists."
The network broadcast video of what it said were two foreigners being carried away after surviving the crash. "I've flown on many airplanes before and I can say there was something strange about our landing," Khaonuan said. "We seemed to drop down too fast."
Phuket is one of Thailand's most popular resort islands and is still recovering from the devastation of the 2004 tsunami. The gigantic waves, and the massive earthquake that spawned them, killed almost 230,000 people in parts of Asia.
Chaisak Angsuwan, director general of the Air Transport Authority of Thailand, said Flight OG269 from Bangkok's Don Muang airport attempted to land in heavy wind and rain, which made visibility poor.
"He decided to make a go-around, but the plane lost balance and crashed," Anguswan told the Bangkok Post. "The plane then fell onto the runway and broke into two."
One-Two-Go Airlines is Thailand's first budget carrier, which promises one fare for any of its 12 domestic and international routes. It is owned by Orient-Thai Airways.
Founded at the end of 2003, the airline has just 13 aircraft, roughly divided between Boeing 747s and MD-82s, which McDonnell Douglas introduced in 1982 as a longer, improved version of the twin-engine DC-9. One-Two-Go's small fleet carries on average 145,000 to 150,000 passengers each month, according to the company.
In 2004, a Boeing 747-200 operated by One-Two-Go's parent company, Thai-Orient, came within 656 feet of striking Tokyo Tower, a 1,093-foot replica of the Eiffel Tower that is a landmark in the Japanese capital.
The flight, which was evenutally destined for Phuket, was on its final approach to Tokyo's Haneda when the near-accident occurred. The jumbo jet's captain had failed to brief the crew fully on the procedure for landing at Haneda, local media reported after the incident.
In an Internet posting before today's crash, airline Chairman Udom Tantiprasongchai told visitors to the airline's website that "we hope that the rainy season this year brings rain that washes away negativities and makes room for all the good things to come."
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