Plane missing since 1958 confirmed crashed

A TAIWAN passenger plane, which went missing more than half a century ago, has been confirmed crashed following the recovery of its propeller recently, major Chinese dailies reported.

The PBY-5A amphibious plane –also known as the “Blue Swan” – belonged to TransAsia Airways.

Carrying seven army officers and four crew members, the cross-strait flight from Matsu Island in the Taiwan Straits to Taiwan Island went missing on Oct 1, 1958. It departed from Matsu airport at 5.45pm.

“Altitude 1,000-feet, 80-mile from Taipei”, was the last message it sent to the control tower before the plane disappeared from the radar. A search team comprising the navy and air force units from the United States and Taiwan had failed to locate the plane.

The disappearance of the flight remained mysterious until several months ago when a fishing boat trawled up its propeller.

The cause of the crash however is still unknown.

> The dailies also reported that actress Fan Bingbing became the first Chinese star to enter the Barbie Hall of Fame.

At the launch of Barbie’s Fan Bingbing Celebrity Speciality Doll in Shanghai, recently, Fan was presented the doll wearing a yellow robe.

The dress was inspired by the dragon-printed gown she wore on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010.

> Sin Chew Daily reported that the Musang King durian dumpling has been voted in the Top 10 Strongest Flavoured Dumplings in China.

According to Chinese nationals, the dumpling – or better known as bak chang in Malaysia – is best consumed with milk. It was popular among women in Beijing, as well as in Guangdong and Fujian provinces.

Dumpling is a traditional food for the Duanwu Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival.

Top flavours on the list by an online portal in China include the Teochew salted and sweet dumplings, the Hainanese hele crab, the Hokkien mixed seafood and Sichuan’s Chinese sausage and red bean with salt and pepper.

> Found in Translation is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.