TransAsia crash survivor pulled son from waters and gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
A SURVIVOR from the Taiwan TransAsia plane crash told of the dramatic moment he pulled his son from the waters and gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
A Taiwan TransAsia plane crashed shortly after take off killing 31 people
Lin Mingwei rescued his wife and two-year-old child Lin Riyao from the water that flooded the jet after it crashed into a river earlier today.
Mr Lin massaged his son's chest before he was taken to intensive care. His wife also suffered several bone fractures.
Some 31 people died after the Taiwan TransAsia plane crashed shortly after taking off from a Taipei airport at 10.55am local time (2:55am GMT) today.
Speaking about his son, Mr Lin said: "I absolutely can't lose him again."
The ATR 72-600 domestic flight was carrying 58 people on board
I absolutely can't lose him again
The two-year-old child had spent more than 100 days in hospital after he was born prematurely.
The ATR 72-600 domestic flight was carrying 58 people on board when it hit a road bridge in the capital of Taipei.
Some 15 people have been pulled from the wreckage but 12 still remain missing.
The horrifying moment the plane caught the bridge was captured in dramatic dashboard camera footage.
The jet can be seen clipping a taxi and the edge of the bridge before smashing into the river below.
The driver of the taxi is understood to have survived.
One volunteer rescuer said: "I've never seen anything like this."
The Taiwan TransAsia plane crash is the fourth air disaster to affect Asia in the space of a year
Television footage showed survivors wearing life jackets wading and swimming clear of wreckage.
Others, including a young child, were taken to shore in inflatable boats.
The Ministry of National Defence said it had sent 165 people and eight boats to the rescue scene.
Taipei's fire crew also assisted with rescue efforts.
Rescuers used a crane to hoist the wrecked TransAsia Airways plane from the river as they searched for the remaining people who were onboard the jet.
It is the fourth air disaster to hit Asian airlines in the space of a year.
In March 2014 Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared with 239 people onboard and despite extensive searches not a trace of it has been found.
Four months later MH17, also a Malaysia Airlines flight, was shot down near the Ukraine-Russia border killing all 298 people onboard.
It happened in the aftermath of the Ukraine crisis and Kiev blamed Russian separatists while Moscow blamed Ukrainian forces.
In December last year Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashed during bad weather killing all 162 people onboard.