Taiwan plane crash: Family moved seats before take-off and survived

Rescue teams will continue searching for survivors yesterday, after 31 people were confirmed dead yesterday

Relatives of the victims pray during a Buddhist ritual near the wreckage of TransAsia Airways plane Flight GE235 after it crash landed into a river, in New Taipei City, February 5, 2015. (REUTERS/River Wang)

A couple and their toddler who survived yesterday’s TransAsia aircrash changed seats before the plane took off – a move which likely saved their lives.

At least 31 people died when TransAsia Flight GE235 curved onto its side mid-air, clipped a taxi and a bridge, before it crashed on its left side into a river shortly after take-off from the Taiwanese capital, Taipei.

After the plane careered into the river, the couple managed to escape the plane. They found their 2-year-old son floating in the water “with [his] face turning pale and lips turning purple,” according to United Daily.

Lin rushed to deliver CPR on his son as he awaited rescue teams.

The pilot, identified by TransAsia as Liao Chien-tsung, 52, who was among the dead, had reportedly fought desperately to steer the aircraft between apartment blocks and commercial buildings close to Taipei's Songshan airport before the crash.

Dramatic footage captured by the dashboard camera of a car driving along the riverside Huandong Boulevard shows the aircraft cartwheel in the air, as it narrowly avoids striking an apartment block before rolling sharply to the left.

Lin’s brother, Chris Lin, told Reuters: “The pilot's immediate action saved many people. We all feel very lucky.”

A still from footage showing the plane careering over an overpass (EPA)

Today, rescue officials will continue searching for 12 people still missing more than 24 hours after the crash. There are 15 known survivors.

Yeh Chun-hsing, an official with Taipei's fire department, said: “We have not found survivors or bodies of the 12 missing, but we will not give up. We'll continue to search.”

Of the aircraft’s 53 passengers, 31 were from the People’s Republic – 16 of whom were killed, according to CAA. The co-pilot also died, the CAA said. The remaining 22 passengers, and five crew, were Taiwanese. Three Chinese passengers were rescued. The captain was named as Jianzong Liao, aged 42; the first officer was Zizhong Liu, aged 45.

Yesterday, TransAsia's shares closed down 6.9 percent - its biggest percentage decline since late 2011, and plummeted a further 4 percent on Thursday.

The crash was the latest in a string of aviation disasters in Asia in the past 12 months and TransAsia's second in the past seven months.

Additional reporting by Reuters