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
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from
RSS