At least 16 dead as Taiwan plane plunges into river
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TAIPEI (AFP) - At least 16 people were killed Wednesday when a turboprop passenger plane operated by TransAsia Airways clipped a road bridge and plunged into a river in Taiwan, in the airline's second crash in just seven months.
Dramatic amateur video footage showed the TransAsia ATR 72-600 turboprop plane hit the road bridge as it banked side-long towards the water, leaving a trail of debris including a smashed taxi.
"I saw a taxi, probably just metres ahead of me, being hit by one wing of the plane. The plane was huge and really close to me. I'm still trembling," one witness told TVBS news channel.
Rescue officials said that 15 survivors had been pulled out of the wreckage, but that 16 people were believed dead and 27 were still missing. Many of those on board were Chinese tourists.
It was the second serious incident involving a TransAsia Airways plane in a few months after another flight operated by the domestic airline crashed in July during a storm, killing 48 people.
Wednesday's accident happened just before 11:00 am (0300 GMT), shortly after Flight GE235 left Songshan airport in northern Taipei en route to the island of Kinmen, with 58 people on board including five crew members.
