The death toll from the crash of a passenger plane in Taiwan rose to 31 Thursday, as search and rescue operations continued for 12 people still missing.

Internet video showed the twin-engine TransAsia plane moments after takeoff from Taipei’s Songshan airport on Wednesday, bound for Taiwan’s outlying Kinmen islands. The plane’s left wing, perpendicular to the ground, is seen clipping an elevated highway and a taxi cab before crashing into the Keelung River. Authorities say 15 people survived, including a small child.

Search for missing passengers

Lin Tyh-Ming, the head of Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration, said Thursday the search for the missing passengers is continuing.

“At present, the head and tail of the plane have been recovered out of the water. Two engines have been found. Part of the plane wings are still under the water. We are unable to pull the plane wreckage out of the water as the water current is very fast today,” he said.

Japan’s Kyodo news agency quoted an aeronautics official as saying he suspected the ATR-72 turboprop plane lost speed while climbing during takeoff.

Black box recovered

Officials say the plane’s flight data and cockpit voice recorder have been recovered and are undergoing analysis to determine the cause of the crash, which occurred in clear weather.

A recording of air traffic controllers indicated that the pilot’s last words before the plane went down were “Mayday, mayday, engine flameout.”

It is the second ATR-72 to crash in Taiwan in as many years. Last July, one of the French-made twin-engine turboprops crashed during poor weather near the airport on the island of Penghu, killing 48 people.

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