The plane, carrying 58 people,
has broken up and the fuselage is lying half-submerged in the Keelung River.
Rescue efforts are ongoing.
Cindy Sui reports: ''Many of
the people on board are still inside the aircraft''
Rescuers on boats have cut the
plane open to gain access to several people still trapped inside.
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.
Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics
Administration said the last communication from one of the pilots had been:
"Mayday, mayday, mayday."
Flight controllers lost
contact with the plane at 10:55 local time (02:55 GMT).
Footage of the plane filmed
from inside passing cars showed it banking sharply, hitting a taxi and clipping
the bridge before crashing into the river.
"I saw a taxi, probably
just metres ahead of me, being hit by one wing of the plane," an
eyewitness told local media.
"The plane was huge and
really close to me. I'm still trembling."
Reports on the number of dead
varied, with some saying at least 16 people lost their lives. Several people
suffered injuries and some were still unaccounted for.
Reference: bbc
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