DATE=4-15-02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-288716

TITLE=SOUTH KOREA / PLANE CRASH (S)

BYLINE=AMY BICKERS

DATELINE=TOKYO

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: A Chinese passenger plane has crashed near the South Korean city, Pusan. As V-O-A's Amy Bickers reports from our Northeast Asia Bureau, 155 passengers and 11 crew members were on the flight from Beijing to Pusan and word from the scene is there might have been some survivors.

TEXT: China's official Xinhua news agency says Chinese aviation authorities have confirmed Air China Flight 129, crashed in bad weather, earlier Monday. According to South Korean news reports, the plane was a Boeing seven-67 that crashed near a residential area of the city of Pusan, the country's second largest city.

The majority of the passengers are believed to be South Koreans returning from holidays in China.

Low clouds and dense fog apparently reduced visibility as the plane approached for landing. (SIGNED)

NEB/AB/MAR