AIPEI/ Taiwan: At least 12 people have died after a Taiwanese TransAsia Airways plane clipped a bridge and crashed into a river near the capital, Taipei.
More than 50 people were onboard the domestic flight, and a number of people were reportedly injured.
Aviation authority director Lin Chi-ming told a news conference that two people were killed. The country s Central News Agency said three people were killed.
Taiwanese media posted pictures of the plane in the water several dozen meters (yards) from the shore in the Keelung River.
CNA said the flight from Taipei to the outlying island of Kinmen lost contact with flight controllers at 10:55 a.m. and the fuselage landed in the Keelung River near the city s downtown Sungshan airport.
The plane was identified as a French-made twin-engine turboprop ATR 72 with a two-pilot air crew.
The plane s fuselage was seen half-submerged in the shallow river, with passengers and rescuers standing on the hull andswimming in the water.
The accident comes just months after a TransAsia ATR-72 crashed while attempting to land on the island of Penghu off Taiwan s coast, killing 48 people and injuring another 10. Stormy weather and low visibility were suspected as factors in that crash last July.
Taiwan: At least 31 dead as Plane crashes in Taipi river
