Death toll from Taiwan air crash rises to 23, still 20 missing

Death toll from Taiwan plane crash in northern Taiwan rose to 23 with 20 people still missing as of Wednesday evening, the Taipei-based Central News Agency reported.
A TransAsia Airways flight GE235 carrying 58 people crashed into a river in Taipei before noon after hitting an elevated bridge, the Taipei City Fire Department said.
15 injured survivors included three Chinese citizens while the remainder were Taiwanese, according to Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration.
The ATR-72 turbo-prop plane, carrying 53 passengers and five crew members took off from Taipei Songshan Airport at 10:52 a.m. (0252 GMT) en route to the Kinmen Islands, but crashed 10 minutes late, the report said.
Of the total passengers on board, 31 are Chinese tourists and 27 are Taiwanese. The cause of crash was still unknown. Nearly 1,000 police, firefighters and military personnel joined rescue efforts Wednesday, the fire department said.
Meanwhile, senior executives at TransAsia Airways bowed in apology at a news conference, but they did not comment on what caused it. It is the second crash in half a year for TransAsia. Another ATR-72 carrying 58 people crashed last July, leaving 49 people dead. The aviation administration said the plane was less than a year old and completed its latest safety checks on Jan. 26.
TransAsia Airways said it will conduct a round of special checks on the engines of all of its other ATR aircraft.
No flights using ATR planes will operate until related inspections are completed at the request of the Civil Aeronautics Administration, TransAsia said.
French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR expressed sorrow that the ATR72-600 was involved in the crash and expressed condolences to those affected by it.