Flight CI611 took off about 2:40 p.m. (0640 GMT) from Taipei's international airport and was reported missing about 3:30 p.m. (0730GMT) near Penghu, said Kuo Yao-chi, a Taiwan official investigating the crashed plane.

The Boeing 747-200 was carrying 206 passengers and 19 crew, Chang Chia-chu, a transportation official, said at a news conference.

Things such as the plane's cabin door, life jackets and other things related to the crash were being discovered,'' Chang said.

There was a large oil slick about 20 nautical miles (36 kilometers) northeast of Penghu, Chang said.

ETTV cable news quoted Penghu fishermen as saying they saw bodies floating in the water.

China Airlines official Wang Cheng-yu confirmed at a news conference that the plane crashed near Penghu. He said that the Boeing 747-200, built in 1979, was the last plane of its kind in the airline's fleet.

Taiwan was using ships and helicopters to look for the aircraft, he said.

Due to a series of crashes in the 1990s, China Airlines --Taiwan's biggest carrier -- used to be considered one of the world's most dangerous airlines. But in recent years, the carrier has reshuffled its board and has put a greater emphasis on safety.

The last known fatal China Airlines accident was in 1999 when a jetliner flipped over and burst into flames during a crash landing in Hong Kong, killing three people.

According to the aviation safety website, Airsafe.com, China Airlines has had nine fatal accidents since 1970.

(China Daily May 25, 2002)