Rescue workers are racing to get to survivors trapped in the wreckage of a plane that crashed in Taipei Wednesday morning. As of 2pm on Wednesday, 22 of the 58 people who were on board are confirmed dead. Another 22 people are still missing.
TransAsia Airways Flight GE 235 was en route from Taipei to the outlying Taiwanese island of Kinmen. Five minutes after takeoff, the plane clipped a bridge and crashed into the Keelung River.
Fire and rescue workers have surrounded the plane with boats, and are working to pull people from the partially submerged plane. Premier Mao Chi-kuo has also instructed the military to help with the rescue mission.
Officials say that 31 of the 53 passengers on board were Chinese tourists from the southern city of Xiamen. Two of the passengers were children.
This is the second TransAsia crash in less than a year. Last July, a TransAsia flight crashed while attempting to land on the outlying islands of Penghu, killing 48 and injuring another 10. Stormy weather and low visibility were suspected as factors in that crash.
Both TransAsia crashes involved the same make of plane: the French-built ATR 72.