Dozens feared dead as TransAsia plane crashes in Taiwan

Around a dozen people are known to have died and others are unaccounted for after a Taiwanese passenger plane crashed into the Taipei river shortly after take-off.

Of some 58 passengers and crew on board, officials said 28 had been rescued.

A rescue operation is underway to get people out of the water.

Amateur videos captured the moment the TransAsia Airways jet lost control and narrowly missed a motorway, clipping a bridge before plunging into the water.

The turboprop ATR 72-600 aircraft had just taken off from Taipei airport in apparently clear weather.

Reports said around a dozen people were known to have died, with perhaps 30 unaccounted for. Of some 58 passengers and crew on board, officials said 28 had been rescued.

Emergency workers on the river have been using inflatable boats to try to reach passengers trapped inside the fuselage.

Authorities say those on board included around 30 tourists from mainland China. The plane was on its way to the island of Kinmen.

The chief executive of TransAsia apologised after the crash.

Chen Xinde bowed at a news conference, carried live on Taiwan television, as he offered a “deep apology” to the passengers and crew on board.

It is the second major plane crash in Taiwan in just over six months.

Last July, 48 people were killed when a 70-seat ATR 72 turboprop plane of TransAsia Airways crashed near the runway while trying to land on the small island of Penghu, west of Taiwan island, following a typhoon earlier in the day.

SOURCE: euronews