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Crash: A taxi driver (pictured in the grey jacket) was taken to hospital after suffering severe head injuries and concussion when the plane crushed his vehicle before colliding with the bridge
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A taxi driver is lucky to be alive after a passenger plane clipped his vehicle before hitting a motorway overpass and crashing into a river in Taiwan killing at least 31 people.
The cabbie, named locally as Mr Zhou, scrambled from the wreckage of his car with serious injuries before telling doctors 'I fainted the moment it hit us'.
Flight 235 with 58 people aboard - many of them travellers from China - banked sharply on its side on Wednesday shortly after takeoff from Taipei, smashing into a highway bridge and then plunging into the Keelung River below.
Mr Zhou, who is said to have a heart condition, reportedly clambered from his vehicle before admitting: 'I am lucky to be alive'.
A two-year-old boy was one of four children who miraculously survived the terrifying crash. So far 15 survivors have been pulled from the wreckage of the plane, as more than 1,000 rescue personnel scramble to try and save people trapped in the aircraft which crashed into the Keeling River in the capital city of Taipei.
Dramatic footage of the rescue operation, which is still ongoing, shows the child being carried out on the aeroplane by emergency workers with barely a scratch on him. Once the dinghy reaches dry land, he is rushed away to be looked over by medics.
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| Smash: Terrifying pictures have emerged of a passenger plane with 58 people on board plunging into a river near Taiwan's capital Taipei after clipping a bridge on the freeway |
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| Miracle: A rescue worker hands over a two-year-old boy after survivor a devastating plane crash in Taiwan. The aircraft clipped a motorway shortly after take off and crashed into the Keeling River |
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| Safe: The toddler and a Taiwanese official rush to safety once they reach dry land, after the little boy is rescued from the plane which crashed into the Keeling River in Taipai, Taiwan's capital city |
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| Passengers' belongings are placed in front of the wreckage of the TransAsia ATR 72-600 turboprop plane on the Keelung river bank outside Taiwan's capital Taipei
At least 25 people were killed in the crash, which happened just three minutes after the plane took off from a Taipei airport.
While the survivors receive medical attention and counselling following the horrifying incident, emergency workers continue to look for 18 people who are still not accounted for as night falls on the crash site.
Cranes have been used to remove part of the fuselage from the river, which was lying half submerged.
Fire department officials have confirmed that 14 of the fatalities died at the scene while the others died as a result of their injuries before they reached a hospital.
NIghtfall: Rescue teams are set to work through the night to find missing passengers and establish the cause of the crash, which is currently unknown
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Probe: Firefighters use torches to look for survivors and clues within the wreckage of TransAsia GE235 passenger plane, which crashed into the Keeling River after clipping a motorway and taxi shortly after taking off
The other 18 passengers are believed to be still trapped inside the TransAsia Airways GE235 plane as the rescue operation on the Keeling River in the capital city of Taipei continues.
Terrifying footage of the disaster, filmed by a passing motorist's dashboard camera, has emerged and shows the ATR 72-600 turboprop domestic flight, reportedly with 58 people on board, plunging into the water only three minutes after taking off from Songshan airport which was 5km away.
Speaking earlier today Wu Jun-hong, a Taipei Fire Department official who was coordinating the rescue, said the missing people were believed to still be in the fuselage, blocked from the entrance by interior wreckage, or had been pulled downriver.
'The focus of our work is to try to use cranes to lift the front part of the wreckage, which is submerged under the water and is where most of the other passengers are feared trapped,' Wu told reporters at the scene.
'At the moment, things don't look too optimistic. Those in the front of the plane are likely to have lost their lives.'
Attempt: Rescue personnel in a rubber dinghy remove a passenger from the wreckage using ropes before transporting them to land and hospitals
Lucky: A survivor is taken to safety by emergency crew: 25 people have reportedly died and 15 people have been rescued
Wounded: Another injured passenger is stretchered by emergency workers after being fitted with a neck brace
Probe: Investigators are examining the plane's blackbox (pictured) retrieved from the wreckage to outline the cause of the accident
Safety: Fire department officials have confirmed that 14 of the fatalities died on the spot while the remaining died as a result of their injuries before they reached a hospital
Secure: Operators begin their operations to secure the crashed aircraft. On board the plane were 53 passengers and five crew, 31 of whom were tourists from mainland China
Debris: A man walks past the wreckage of the GE235 flight which clipped a freeway overpass before crash landing in a river
The plane, which is a privately-owned airline, had just taken off from Songshan Airport in Taipei and was en route to the island of Kinmen
Civil aviation officials said the flight took off at 10:53 am and lost contact with controllers two minutes later
Rush: Thousands of people have crowded around the crash site in Taiwan as 20 passangers remain unaccounted for
Assistance: Rescue personnel, military and members of the media line up along the shore as the rescue operations continues
Emergency personnel carry the body of a passenger extracted from the commercial plane after it crashed
great source : dailymail
Assistance: An injured passenger is helped onto land by emergency personnel along the river bank. Amongst those rescued are four children
Wounded: Another injured passenger is stretchered by emergency workers after being fitted with a neck brace
Aid: Rescuers transfer an injured passenger from a crashed plane in Taipei to an ambulance vehicle
However The Strait Times reported that eye witnesses of the disaster claimed they saw people being thrown out of the plane upon impact.
Civil aviation officials said the flight took off at 10:53am, en route to the island of Kinmen, and lost contact with controllers two minutes later. The cause of the crash remains unknown.
In what was believed to be the final communication from the cockpit, aired by local television news, the plane's crew could be heard shouting 'Mayday! Mayday! Engine flameout!'.
A 'flameout' is when the flame in a plane's engine is extinguished, resulting in a loss of power or engine failure.
Scroll down for video:
Tragedy: A white sheet is laid over one of the passengers killed in the crash, as the body is taken past military personnel drafted in to help with the rescue operation
Probe: Investigators are examining the plane's blackbox (pictured) retrieved from the wreckage to outline the cause of the accident
Safety: Fire department officials have confirmed that 14 of the fatalities died on the spot while the remaining died as a result of their injuries before they reached a hospital
Secure: Operators begin their operations to secure the crashed aircraft. On board the plane were 53 passengers and five crew, 31 of whom were tourists from mainland China
An official from the national fire agency told AFP at least three people showed 'no life signs' when rescue crews first arrived at the accident site.
'Three people showed no heartbeat and other life signs when they were rescued,' Lin Kuan-cheng said.
More than 1000 emergency personnel, including five rescue teams from the local fire crew and hundreds of military troops, were sent to Nanyang Bridge where they used inflatable speed boats to access the crash site.
Rescue teams were also seen atop the wreckage, where they pulled passengers out to safety before assisting them to land and finally rushing them to various hospitals.
On board the plane were 53 passengers and five crew, 31 of whom were tourists from mainland China.
A taxi driver was also taken to hospital after suffering severe head injuries and concussion when the plane crushed his vehicle before colliding with the bridge.
Debris: A man walks past the wreckage of the GE235 flight which clipped a freeway overpass before crash landing in a river
Civil aviation officials said the flight took off at 10:53 am and lost contact with controllers two minutes later
Rush: Thousands of people have crowded around the crash site in Taiwan as 20 passangers remain unaccounted for
Assistance: Rescue personnel, military and members of the media line up along the shore as the rescue operations continues
nvestigators are examining the plane's blackbox retrieved from the wreckage to outline the cause of the accident.
Lin Chih-ming, head of Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration, said the ATR 72-600 was less than a year old and was last serviced just over a week ago.
The pilot had 14,000 flying hours and the co-pilot 4,000 hours, Lin said.
It's not the first time TransAsia has been struck by tragedy as another of its planes, also an ATR-7, crashed in a rainstorm in July off Penghu Island in the Taiwan Strait.
The plane crash killed 48 people and injured 10 others.
Infographics: The plane crashed three minutes after take off, only five kilometres from the runway
Emergency personnel carry the body of a passenger extracted from the commercial plane after it crashed
great source : dailymail
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