SHAFAQNA PAKISTAN (Shia News Agency)
Nine of the 58 people on board a TransAsia plane were killed after it crash landed in a Taipei river, a TV station reported on Wednesday.
Earlier, the government had said at least two people were killed in the incident, while civil aeronautics authorities put the number of those rescued at about 16. Thirty-one mainland Chinese tourists were among those on board, Taiwan’s tourism bureau said.
A passenger plane with 58 people on board plunged into a river outside Taiwan’s capital Taipei Wednesday, with 17 people rescued and dozens trapped inside, according to television reports.
A statement released by the Taiwanese Central Disaster Response Centre said “The plane lost contact at 10.53am on and was found in Keelung river in Taipei. The ministry of transportation contacted the disaster response centre 20 minutes later. Taipei city rescue teams are in operation, having rescued 16 people who were admitted to a nearby hospital, with two announced dead on arrival.”
Several fire engines, ambulances, water craft and almost 170 rescue staff were deployed.
The TransAsia ATR 72-600 turboprop plane was on a domestic flight when it hit a road bridge before ploughing into the river, the reports said. Rescuers were trying to reach the trapped passengers.
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