Taiwanese flight crashes into river after hitting bridge

A Taiwanese flight with 58 people aboard clipped a bridge shortly after takeoff and careened into a shallow river Wednesday in the island's capital of Taipei, leaving at least 12 people dead and many more feared trapped.

The plane apparently ramming into an elevated highway before falling into the river. The crash happened shortly after the plane took off from Songshan Airport in Taipei and was suspected to be due to insufficient propelling force, according to media reports.

Parts of the wrecked fuselage of the turboprop ATR 72 jutted out of the Keelung River, for far from the shore near the city's downtown Sungshan airport. The main section of fuselage was on its side, missing a wing.

As many as 31 passengers were from mainland China, Taiwan's TVBS news broadcaster said. Kinmen lies just off the Chinese coast, making it a convenient way to return to the mainland after traveling to Taiwan.

The plane also hit a taxi, the driver of which was injured, as it flew into the river, TVBS reported.

It was the second of TransAsia's French-made ATR 72 planes to crash in the past year. Last July, a flight 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.

The crash was caught on camera by a number of commuters.