LEAD: Passenger plane crashes on landing at Phuket airport, 100 feared dead

(EDS: UPDATING)

A passenger plane crashed while trying to land at Phuket International Airport in southern Thailand on Sunday afternoon and about 100 people are feared dead, a local television station reported quoting an official.

Worapoj Ratasima, deputy governor of Phuket Province, said about 20 people were taken to a nearby hospital and about 100 people are feared dead, according to the Channel 3 television report.

The plane skidded off the runway and crashed into the forest and burst into flames while attempting to land in heavy rain, according to media reports.

The pilot lost control of the plane, the reports said. The fire is now under control but the fuselage was badly damaged.

The plane belongs to One-Two-Go Airlines, the first budget airline in the country.