At least 15 dead in Taiwan plane crash caught on dramatic video

At least 15 people were dead after a TransAsia Airways turbo prop plane with 58 people turned on its side in midair, clipped an elevated roadway and careened into a river on Wednesday shortly after takeoff from the island’s capital of Taipei. Rescue crews in rubber rafts frantically searched the wreckage, which was partially submerged in the Keelung River, for those aboard the plane. Officials say they expect the death toll to rise. Rescue officials said that 15 survivors had been pulled out of the wreckage and at least 27 were still missing. Many of those on board were Chinese tourists.

At the moment, things don’t look too optimistic. Those in the front of the plane are likely to have lost their lives.

Wu Jun-hong, a Taipei Fire Department official

Dramatic amateur video footage showed the TransAsia ATR 72-600 turboprop plane hitting the road bridge as it banked side-long towards the water, leaving a trail of debris including a smashed taxi. Civil aviation officials said the flight took off at 10:53 a.m. and lost contact with controllers two minutes later.

World TransAsia