台湾复兴航空飞机失事--bbc.docVIP

Taiwan TransAsia plane crashes into river Dramatic images show the TransAsia passenger plane clipping a bridge as it plunges toward the river A plane carrying mostly Chinese tourists has crashed into a river in Taiwan, killing at least 31 people. Dramatic video footage emerged showing the TransAsia Airways plane clipping a bridge as it came down shortly after take-off from a Taipei airport. The plane, carrying 58 people, broke up as it plunged into Taipeis Keelung River. The fuselage was later salvaged by crane. There were 15 survivors pulled from the wreckage but 12 people remain missing. John Sudworth reports: This is no longer a rescue mission, but a recovery operation Television footage showed some passengers wading clear of the sunken wreckage and a toddler being pulled out alive by rescuers. Emergency teams cut open the plane while it was in the water but were unable to reach the passengers trapped in the front section of the fuselage. As night fell, a crane was used to lift the wreckage on to the bank. The death toll was expected to rise as rescue teams searched the fuselage and the river for the 12 missing passengers. At the moment, things dont look too optimistic, Wu Jun-hong, a Taipei fire department official coordinating the rescue effort told reporters. The fuselage of the plane is hauled from the river by crane A close up of the upside down plane reveals the damage of the impact and rescue operation Rescuers finally gain entry to the previously submerged part of the plane The ATR-72 turbo-prop plane had just taken off from Taipei Songshan Airport and was heading to the Kinmen islands, just off the coast of the south-eastern Chinese city of Xiamen. It is the second TransAsia ATR-72 to crash in seven months, following an accident last July which killed 48 people and injured 15. The final communication from the pilots to air traffic control was Mayday, mayday, engine flame out, according to a recording played on local media. The recording was not immediate