A plane carrying foreign tourists crashed as it tried to land in stormy weather on the Thai resort island of Phuket, engulfing some passengers in flames while others kicked out windows to escape.

Latest estimates say at least 91 people were killed, of whom 55 were foreign tourists.

The budget One-Two-Go Airlines flight was carrying 123 passengers and seven crew members from the capital, Bangkok, to Phuket on Sunday when it skidded off the runway in driving wind and rain, officials said.

It then ran through a low retaining wall and split in two.

Survivors described their escape amid chaos, smoke and fire.

"As soon as we hit, everything went dark and everything fell," said Mildred Furlong, 23, a waitress from British Columbia, Canada.

The plane started filling with smoke and fires broke out, she said.

A passenger in front of her caught fire, while one in the back kicked out a plane window.

Foreigners on the plane included tourists from France, Germany, Israel, Australia and Britain, said the deputy governor of Phuket province, Worapot Ratthaseema.

The government issued a list saying nearly 30 foreigners had survived.

About 60 bodies were retrieved quickly, but it took hours to get the other bodies out.

Investigators began searching for clues on Monday among the twisted and charred remains of the passenger flight.

Authorities said it was too early to say what caused the accident, although they had recovered the two black boxes which they hope could yield some answers in the coming weeks.

"We are still unable to say the cause of accident," Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen said.

"The officials have found the black boxes and will send them for analysis to United States. Hopefully, we will learn in a few weeks the cause of accident."