The death toll from a TransAsia Airways flight that crashed into a Taipei river shortly after taking off on Wednesday has risen to 31, and could rise further, with 12 people still missing, according to Taiwan officials.
TransAsia Flight GE235, carrying 58 passengers and crew, lurched between buildings, clipped an overpass with its port-side wing and crashed upside down into the shallow river shortly after taking off from a Taipei airport.
Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said on Thursday that 15 people survived.
Three of those who were rescued were from a group of 31 tourists from mainland China.
The pilot and co-pilot of the turboprop ATR 72-600 were among those killed, the CAA said.
Rescuers worked throughout the night on Wednesday and early Thursday to find the missing.
The ATR 72-600 turboprop plane was on a domestic flight when it hit a road bridge before crashing into the river, the local reports said.
TransAsia Flight GE235, carrying 58 passengers and crew, lurched between buildings, clipped an overpass with its port-side wing and crashed upside down into the shallow river shortly after taking off from a Taipei airport.
Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said on Thursday that 15 people survived.
Three of those who were rescued were from a group of 31 tourists from mainland China.
The pilot and co-pilot of the turboprop ATR 72-600 were among those killed, the CAA said.
Rescuers worked throughout the night on Wednesday and early Thursday to find the missing.
The ATR 72-600 turboprop plane was on a domestic flight when it hit a road bridge before crashing into the river, the local reports said.
Clear weather
Emergency rescue officials in inflatable boats crowded around the partially submerged fuselage, lying on its side in the river, trying to help those on board.
Taiwanese government authorities said the plane was carrying 31 tourists from mainland China.
The weather appeared to be clear when the plane took off.
Television pictures also showed some damage to a bridge next to the river, with small pieces of the aircraft scattered along the road.
The chief executive of TransAsia, Chen Xinde, apologised to passengers and crew.
The last communication from one of the aircraft's pilots was "Mayday Mayday engine flameout", according to an air traffic control recording on liveatc.net.
The crash-landing is the latest in a string of mishaps to hit Asian carriers in the past 12 months.
An AirAsia jet bound for Singapore crashed soon after taking off from the Indonesian city of Surabaya on December 28, killing all 162 people on board.
Also last year, a Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared and one of its sister planes was downed over Ukraine with a combined loss of 539 lives.
TransAsia is Taiwan's third-largest carrier.
One of its ATR 72-500 planes crashed while trying to land at Penghu Island last year, killing 48 of the 58 passengers and crew on board.
The plane involved in Wednesday's mishap was among the first of the ATR 72-600s, the latest variant of the turboprop aircraft, that TransAsia received in 2014.
Television pictures also showed some damage to a bridge next to the river, with small pieces of the aircraft scattered along the road.
The chief executive of TransAsia, Chen Xinde, apologised to passengers and crew.
The last communication from one of the aircraft's pilots was "Mayday Mayday engine flameout", according to an air traffic control recording on liveatc.net.
The crash-landing is the latest in a string of mishaps to hit Asian carriers in the past 12 months.
An AirAsia jet bound for Singapore crashed soon after taking off from the Indonesian city of Surabaya on December 28, killing all 162 people on board.
Also last year, a Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared and one of its sister planes was downed over Ukraine with a combined loss of 539 lives.
TransAsia is Taiwan's third-largest carrier.
One of its ATR 72-500 planes crashed while trying to land at Penghu Island last year, killing 48 of the 58 passengers and crew on board.
The plane involved in Wednesday's mishap was among the first of the ATR 72-600s, the latest variant of the turboprop aircraft, that TransAsia received in 2014.
They are among an order of eight placed by TransAsia in 2012.
The aircraft have 72 seats each.
The planes are mainly used to connect Taiwan's capital, Taipei, to the island's smaller cities.
The aircraft have 72 seats each.
The planes are mainly used to connect Taiwan's capital, Taipei, to the island's smaller cities.
[aljazeera]
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