8:15 AM UPDATE
TAIPEI - A Singapore Airlines Boeing 747 crashed seconds after takeoff in Taipei during a typhoon on Tuesday, killing at least one person and leaving authorities confused over the whereabouts of as many as 104 other passengers and crew.
The Taiwan government said one person had been killed but
a local television station said four were dead.
Most of the passengers were Taiwanese, but 13 foreigners are reported to be among survivors taken to a hospital. Local radio says the foreigners include one New Zealander, six from the USA, and one from Japan.
The SIA Boeing 747-400, bound for Los Angeles, crashed as it took off at 11.18 pm during a storm and exploded in flames.
"The flight commander reported hitting an object on the takeoff run," the airline said in a statement in Singapore.
Windshear was also a possible cause, officials and witnesses said.
There were 159 passengers and 20 crew aboard flight SQ006, Taiwan Civil Aeronautics Administration deputy director Chang Kuo-cheng told reporters.
LA-bound jet crashes in Taiwan
