Dashboard cameras have captured the moment a completely out of control TransAsia Flight ATR-72 crashed into a river in Taiwan.
Vehicles travelling on the Nanhu Bridge just outside the Taiwanese capital Taipei witnessed first hand how the TransAsia Airways aircraft, carrying 58 people, swayed sideways, its wing clipping the bridge before plunging into the Keelung River.
13 people have been confirmed dead, while 28 were seriously injured. Rescue operations are underway to retrieve the other passengers, who are still missing beneath the waters of the river.
The Taiwanese news agency CNA said the pilot tried to control the plane as it lost altitude at an alarming rate, possibly aiming for a water landing, but the aircraft’s wing grazed the flyover, before catching the top of a passing taxi.
Two people injured in the taxi were taken to hospital, CNA said.
Later, emergency workers arrived on the scene and video showed some survivors wearing life jackets waiting to be rescued.
Rescuers work at the site of the plane accident in Taipei. Image Source: Xinhua/IANS
Meanwhile, TransAsia CEO Chen Xinde apologised to the victims and the crew, adding 31 passengers were Chinese, including three children, and 22 were from Taiwan, including one child.
