BEIJING — At least 25 people died but 15 survived a spectacular crash caught on video of a TransAsia Airways flight that clipped its wing on a bridge after takeoff from the Taiwanese capital Taipei and crashed into a nearby river.
Eighteen people remained missing and were feared dead.
Taiwanese rescuers used a massive crane to hoist the ATR 72-600 propjet from the shallow river after survivors were brought to safety on rubber rafts or scrambled to the river bank on their own. One injured person was reportedly found in a park along the river, Taiwan News reported.
Dramatic dashcam footage from a vehicle on an elevated highway shows the plane banked sharply to its left after taking off, just missing apartment buildings. Its left wing clipped the side of the highway. A taxi on the bridge was hit as the plane crashed into the river, injuring the driver, Taiwan's TVBS news reported.
Rescuers rushed to the scene of the crash, where a large portion of the wrecked fuselage jutted out of the shallow Keelung River with one wing missing. Hours later, emergency personnel in rubber dinghies crowded around what remained of the plane.
By Susie Madrak
— February 4, 2015
