TransAsia Flight B22816 was taking off from Taipei Songshan Airport when it hit a bridge. A motorist caught it on a dash cam. Watch the footage above.
The terrifying ordeal happened around 10 AM Wednesday morning local time. The twin-engine ATR-72 had just taken off from Taipei Songshan Airport when it hit a bridge. The flight had more than 50 people aboard during the collision, with at least 25 people killed.
An ATR-72 airplane belonging to TransAsia Airways crashed into the Keelung River in Taipei after hitting an elevated bridge, Taipei City government spokesman Sidney Lin confirmed Wednesday morning.
The plane had just taken off from Taipei Songshan Airport and was headed to Kinmen Airport in the outlying county just off the coast of southeastern China.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration said that in addition to five crew members, the plane, an ATR-72 short-haul regional craft, was carrying about 31 Chinese tourists and two children when it plunged into the river at 11:02 a.m. (10:52 p.m. ET Tuesday). Twenty-seven people had been removed from the river by Wednesday afternoon, nine of whom were dead or later died as they were being treated, the agency said.
We will update with total number deceased as information becomes available.