Taiwan authorities said on Thursday that it was unlikely bad weather was the cause of the crash of a TransAsia Airways turboprop plane the previous day in which 48 people, including two French nationals, were killed.

The plane, a 70-seat ATR 72, crashed near the runway while trying to land on the small island of Penghu, west of Taiwan, after a typhoon had passed earlier in the day.

The leaders of rivals China and Taiwan both expressed condolences over the deaths. Ten people were injured and taken to hospital.