In a dramatic scene yesterday, a TransAsia commuter plane carrying mostly Chinese tourists crashed into a river in Taiwan killing at least 25 people.
Around 10:55am local time the plane which had just taken off and was carrying 58 people made a sharp bank, struck a moving taxi and clipped the bridge with its wing before crashing into the Keelung river in Taipei, breaking apart on impact.
At least 15 people were rescued alive from the wreckage including a Chinese toddler, while sadly a reported 16 people died on the scene and a further 9 people succumbed to injuries before arriving at hospital. Many people are still reported missing as the recovery efforts continue, however the scene of the remaining wreckage has been reported as ‘grim’.
Early reports have yet to confirm an exact cause of the crash, however we do know there was an engine failure as the pilots last communication with air traffic control was a mayday call and reported an engine flame out. There are also reports that it was visible that the plane suffered from a ‘loss of lift’ due to an engine stall but experts have said that an airplane is still perfectly capable of flying on one engine although it does take more skill to manage.
At this time the pilots are being praised for their actions of avoiding a potentially more disastrous result by staying clear of nearby buildings and clipping the bridge which actually lessened the impact when the plane did crash in the river.
Check out the dramatic dashboard video of the crash here
