25 killed as Taiwan plane crashes into river

Twenty-five people died when a Taiwanese passenger plane hurtled into a river after hitting a bridge shortly upon take-off from Taipei airport on Wednesday.

Though 38 people on the flight, which had mainly Chinese on board, have been accounted for, 15 got hospitalised after sustaining injuries and 20 others have been declared missing.

The aircraft conveying 58 people to Kinmen Island was trying to avoid tall buildings in Taipei’s Nangang district, when its wing suddenly hit a bridge, leading to the disaster.

The driver of a taxi, which was struck by the plane’s wing, and a passenger inside, were also hospitalised.

Peter Chen, TransAsia Airways chief executive officer, apologised to the public over the incident.

Taiwan’s minister for the mainland affairs council said the government would offer assistance to family members of affected Chinese tourists.

Local media reported that analysts were suspecting that an engine lost power as the plane failed to gain altitude after take-off.

TransAsia Airways said the plane was the latest type of ATR-72-600 and the engines were new, adding that its latest safety check was conducted on January 26.

Aviation authority director, Lin Chih-ming, said the plane was the same type as TransAsia Airways flight GE222 that crashed in Penghu in July 2014, killing 48 of the 59 people on board.