The crash of TransAsia Airways Flight GE235 into the Keelung River (基隆河) in Taipei’s Nangang District (南港) yesterday was captured on camcorders mounted in cars, which showed the horrifying final seconds of the plane as its left wing brushed the top of an elevated expressway and a taxi before plunging into the river.
The disaster occurred just before noon, and videos and photographs captured by vehicles and people traveling on the expressway in eastern Taipei were quickly uploaded to YouTube and other social media Web sites.
Dramatic pictures posted by one driver showed the plummeting ATR-72 turboprop aircraft flying on its side with its wings at almost 90o to the ground.
Photo: Screen grab from Twitter
The plane appeared to miss apartment buildings by meters. Footage showed a taxi skidding to a halt on the damaged overpass with small pieces of the aircraft scattered along the road.
The taxi suffered substantial damage to its front end. The taxi driver, surnamed Chou (周), and a female passenger sustained only minor injuries.
Chou said his family did not believe him at first when he telephoned home to say: “I’m OK now. My car got into a crash, it was hit by an airplane.”
Photo courtesy of the Taipei City Police Department
A man surnamed Hsieh (謝) uploaded a video to YouTube (http://youtu.be/eJNAx4BsUtE), saying it came from a camera in a friend’s car.
The terrified reaction of a female passenger can be heard, as she shouts: “Oh, my god” several times.
A security guard surnamed Kao (高) in a nearby building said he could not believe what had happened.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei City Police Department
“I climbed to the rooftop to see the broken-up aircraft in the river,” he said. “It looked like a scene from a Hollywood disaster movie. I cannot forget those dreadful images.”
One witness said the airplane came down between high-rise buildings and that it looked as if the pilot rolled the aircraft to avoid hitting the buildings.
“If it had not hit the expressway, the airplane could have landed on the river. Then we might not have such heavy casualties,” the witness said.
An electrician surnamed Lee (李) doing repair work nearby saw the crash unfold.
“The engine sound got louder. I thought it was a helicopter. Then the airplane, leaving a trail of smoke, plunged into the river. It was so shocking that I dropped the whole wiring bundle on the floor, because I could not stop trembling,” he said.
Cheng Yi-nan (城益男), a security guard at a nearby building, said he heard a roaring sound, followed by a loud bang, then smelled oil burning.
“I thought there was a fire, but later on, we heard news reports of the air crash,” he said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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