A family of three survived the fatal Taiwan passenger plane crash after they changed seats shortly before take-off, it has emerged.
Lin Ming-wei, his wife Jiang Yu-ying and son Lin Yao were rescued from the ATR 72-600 airliner after it hit a road bridge in Taipei and crashed into the Keelung River on Wednesday.
They were seated on the left side of the TransAsia Airways plane, but Mr Lin asked to be moved to some empty seats on the opposite side and towards the back of the plane, according to the Hong Kong-based Apple Daily website.
Dai Bi-chin, a friend of the family, told Taiwanese news outlet United Daily they decided to switch seats after Mr Lin "felt uneasy after he heard noises before taking off and requested to switch seats".
An audio recording of the last communication between air traffic control and the stricken TransAsia flight GE235 has been released as a rescue operation continues in Taiwan.
The audio reveals the pilot said "mayday, mayday, engine flameout" before the plane crashed in the Keelung River, killing at least 31 people.
Authorities say 12 people remain missing after the crash, which occurred after the plane took off from Taipei's Songshan Airport.
Recovery teams worked through the night to lift the fuselage from the water and rescue workers retrieved the bodies of those who died.
There were 58 people on board the TransAsia ATR 72-600 plane when it hit a road bridge and crashed into the river. Fifteen people are known to have survived the crash.
Footage
Video taken by a passing driver's dashcam shows the aircraft's wing clipping a taxi after managing to avoid nearby buildings.
It then disappears from view, coming down on its side in the Keelung River about 25 metres (30 yards) from the bank.
The impact caused the fuselage of the aircraft to break up near where the family was seated, and Mr Lin was able to free his wife and climb out of the plane.
He is reported to have found his son in the water and performed CPR on him.
Ms Jiang suffered multiple fractures and was scheduled to undergo surgery on Thursday. Two-year-old Lin was in intensive care, but was reported to be conscious.
Reports claimed the pilot, identified by TransAsia as 42-year-old Liao Chien-tsung, who was among those killed along with the co-pilot, had fought to steer the stricken aircraft between apartment blocks and commercial buildings before it crashed into the river.
Aviation experts paid tribute to his efforts after he potentially avoided populated areas, although others said it was too early to say whether buildings had been missed because of the crew's actions.
The Apple Daily newspaper ran a front page story thanking the pilot "for saving Taipei".
The plane was heading for the Kinmen islands. 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 members were from Taiwan.
The plane, which went into service last year, was one of eight French-built ATR 72-600s ordered by TransAsia in 2012.
The 72-seater jets are mainly used to fly people from Taipei to smaller cities and islands.
This tragedy comes just seven months after a TransAsia ATR 72-500 crashed while trying to land at Penghu Island, killing 48 of the 58 passengers and crew on board.
Originally published at 7.07am
