At least 23 people have been killed and 20 are missing after a passenger jet crashed into a river in Taiwan minutes after takeoff.

There were 58 people on board the TransAsia ATR 72-600 plane when it hit a road bridge in the capital Taipei. Fifteen survived.

Video taken by a passing driver's dashcam shows the aircraft's wing clipping a taxi after just avoiding nearby buildings.

It then disappears from view, coming down on its side in the Keelung River about 25 metres (30 yards) from the shore.

According to reports, the plane took off from nearby Sungshan airport at 10.53am local time and lost contact with air traffic control two minutes later.

It was on a domestic flight to the Kinmen islands, and as many as 31 passengers were Chinese, three of them children. Kinmen's airport is a common link between Taipei and China's Fujian province.

The other 22 passengers, including one child, and five crew were from Taiwan.

Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration said the number of dead was expected to rise with so many still unaccounted for.

Wu Jun-hong, a Taipei fire department official coordinating the rescue operation, said those missing were either in the fuselage or had been swept down river.

"At the moment, things don't look too optimistic," Mr Wu told reporters at the scene. "Those in the front of the plane are likely to have lost their lives."

Television footage showed survivors wearing life jackets wading and swimming clear of the wreckage, which was surrounded by rubber boats.

Others, including a young child, were taken to safety by rescuers, who could also be seen pulling carry-on luggage from an open door.

The Ministry of National Defence said it had sent 165 people and eight boats to the rescue scene, joining fire department crews.

No reasons have been given for the crash, although a 'flameout' - caused by a fuel supply problem or faulty combustion - is thought to be a possibility.

According to an air traffic control recording at liveatc.net, the last communication from one of the aircraft's pilots was "Mayday Mayday engine flameout".

Contact lost

TransAsia director Peter Chen said contact with the plane was lost four minutes after takeoff, but weather conditions were suitable for flying.

"Actually this aircraft in the accident was the newest model. It hadn't been used for even a year," he told a news conference.

Mr Chen confirmed the driver of the taxi hit on the bridge and his passenger were both injured.

The crash is the latest in a string of mishaps to hit Asian carriers in the past 12 months.

In December an AirAsia jet bound for Singapore crashed soon after taking off from the Indonesian city of Surabaya, killing all 162 people on board.

Also last year, a Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared and one of its sister planes was downed over Ukraine with a combined loss of 539 lives.

Last July a TransAsia ATR-72 crashed while attempting to land on the island of Penghu off Taiwan, killing 48 people and injuring 10.

The plane involved in Wednesday's crash was one of eight ATR 72-600s ordered by TransAsia in 2012.

The 72-seater aircraft are mainly used to fly people from Taipei to smaller cities and islands.

taken to safety by rescuers, who could also be seen pulling carry-on luggage from an open door.

The Ministry of National Defence said it had sent 165 people and eight boats to the rescue scene, joining fire department crews.

No reasons have been given for the crash, although a 'flameout' - caused by a fuel supply problem or faulty combustion - is thought to be a possibility.

The crash is the latest in a string of mishaps to hit Asian carriers in the past 12 months.

In December an AirAsia jet bound for Singapore crashed soon after taking off from the Indonesian city of Surabaya, killing all 162 people on board.

Also last year, a Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared and one of its sister planes was downed over Ukraine with a combined loss of 539 lives.

Last July a TransAsia ATR-72 crashed while attempting to land on the island of Penghu off Taiwan, killing 48 people and injuring 10.

The plane involved in Wednesday's crash was one of eight ATR 72-600s ordered by TransAsia in 2012.

The 72-seater aircraft are mainly used to connect Taipei with smaller cities and islands.

Originally posted at 7.05am