“There
was some sound next to me. It did not feel right.” - Huang Jin-sun,
survivor of TransAsia Airways Flight GE235 crash in Taipei.
A
TransAsia Airways flight with 58 people aboard crashed in Taipei shortly after
takeoff on Wednesday morning, killing at least 32 people with 11 people still
unaccounted for. The ATR 72 twin engine turboprop plane went down just after
11:00 a.m. in the Keelung River near the Nunhu Bridge.
Shortly
after the plane departed from Sungshan Airport for a short flight to Kenmen, someone
in the cockpit (it remains unclear whether the person was a pilot) radioed in
to air traffic controllers, “Mayday. Mayday. Engine flameout.” The shocking
moments that followed were actually captured by the dashboard camera of a car
on the Nunhu Bridge.
Roughly
three miles from Sungshan Airport, the plane can be seen narrowly missing a
building as it continues to lose altitude. As the plane nears the Nanhu Bridge,
it turns onto its side. One of the wings actually clips a passing car and
scrapes the roadway. The fuselage barely clears the bridge before leaving the
camera’s view and crashes into the river.
Emergency
responders arrived at the crash site and immediately began to pull survivors
from the wreckage. Many of the 15 people that survived the tragedy were
injured. Two people in the car that was hit were also injured. As of Wednesday
night, the death toll was listed as 23 with 20 people listed as missing. Today,
that number has risen to 32 with 11 people still considered missing. The
cockpit crew are listed among the deceased.
In
the immediate aftermath of the crash, TransAsia Airways CEO Chen Xinde said 31
passengers aboard GE235 were Chinese citizens and 22 were from Taiwan.
TransAsia sent the passenger manifest to officials, and families are in the
process of coming forward and identifying victims. The airline is in the
process of giving families condolence money (roughly $6,360) and will also
distribute funeral funds for families identifying victims.
According
to CNN, China will send officials to Taipei assist Taiwan’s Aviation Safety
Council (ASC) investigation. So far, the ASC has said the crashed plane was
less than a year old and had a safety inspection on January 26. No information
has been offered as to what caused the crash.
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