The Taiwanese Aviation Council said on Friday in Taipei that the twin-engine ATR 72 turboprop crashed about three
and a half minutes after take-off.
Thomas Wang, the Council Chief, said the flight data from the plane indicated that the passenger plane, which crashed in Taipei earlier this week, lost power in the air.
Wang said the pilots attempted to restart the engines but all efforts failed.
Meanwhile, Japanese rescuers said they have recovered four more bodies from the Keelung River, raising the death toll from Wednesday’s TransAsia Airways passenger plane crash to 35.
They confirmed that eight people who boarded the flight were still missing two
days after the accident, with 15 survivors.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration said 31 tourists from the Chinese mainland, who had just completed visits to Taiwan, were on board the plane bound for Kinmen when the tragedy happened.
It said the plane apparently lost power and crashed, killing three
of its five-person crew.
The administration said two
flight data recorders or “black boxes” have been found and are being analysed by specialists.
The Taipei City Fire Department said more than 300 rescuers, including 50 divers, were involved in an expanded search for missing people in the Keelung River.
It said the focus was on six designated sections downstream of the crash site.
The Coast Guards promised that they would help search coastal areas up to 10 nautical miles off the mouth of the Tamsui River.
Xinhua/NAN.