Chinese president Xi Jinping expressed his extended condolences to the families who have lost loved ones in the plane crash in Taiwan Wednesday evening.

48 have been reported killed and 10 injured after Flight GE 222 from TansAsia crashed amid stormy weather on western Taiwan's Penghu Island.

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Xi, who currently is in Cuba on his tour to Latin American countries, feels deeply grieved over the casualties of the tragedy, the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office (SCTAO) said in a statement

The twin-engine ATR-72 turboprop aircraft was flying from Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan to Penghu Islands in the west with 54 passengers and four crew on board.

After a failed emergency landing at Magong Airport it crashed into residential buildings.

In a statement Thursday morning the airline reported that there were two French nationals on board.

A local fire brigade official said that 36 bodies had been recovered.

Until now 14 of the 48 killed have been identified, according to Taiwan's civil aeronautics authority, while the identities of the 34 others still need to be confirmed.

Only one of the 10 injured still needs to be identified.

Family members of all people on board have been contacted and TransAsia, who will help them head for Magong.

Furthermore TransAsia, according to the airline's statement, will pay a compensation of $6,673 per family member on board plus a funeral subsidy for each family member who died in the crash,

In a statement Xi told the SCTAO to convey his deepest sympathies over the loss of lives, and extended condolences to the relatives of the victims, adding that if any assistance is needed from the mainland it will be ready.

Xi also expressed his sympathies and condolences to the heads of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation.

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