The TransAsia Airways domestic flight ATR-72, had just taken off when it hit a bridge over the river Keelung. On board were 58 passengers: several injuries. Video of the crash, while the survivors await relief efforts in the icy waters.

Taipei (AsiaNews) - A small domestic TransAsia Airways plane hit a bridge just after takeoff from Sonsghan Taipei, Taiwan this morning. At least 12 people were killed in the crash, while 30 other passengers are currently missing. In total there were 58 people on board: some are still clinging to the wreckage of the aircraft waiting for help, in the icy waters of the river Keelung.

A video of the crash, taken by some cars passing on the bridge, shows the ATR-72 flight bumping against the bridge, hitting a taxi and then plunging violently into the river. Of those on board 53 are passengers and five crew members: 31 are tourists from mainland China.

A government official in charge of the first response rescue operations, said that "in all probability" the pilot lost control of the aircraft. They are currently pulling survivors out of the water, although "some might be left inside the aircraft. We are looking for survivors."

The TransAsia Airways is already in the headlines for another plane crash, in July 2014, when one of its carriers hit a tropical storm and crashed into the waters of the Penghu archipelago, in Taiwan. 48 people died in that disaster.

 

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