The seaplane that crashed into the Hangzhou Bay near Shanghai yesterday afternoon is lifted out of water. A co-pilot and four passengers were killed after it hit a bridge on takeoff. (Xinhua)
Five people were killed when a seaplane crashed into a bridge over Hangzhou Bay as it was taking off from Shanghai's Jinshan District yesterday.
The U.S. Cessna 208B crashed into the Shanghai-Hangzhou Expressway No. 7835 Bridge at 12:20pm.
On board what was to be the maiden flight of a sightseeing service to the Zhoushan Archipelago were a pilot, co-pilot and eight passengers — a reporter and cameraman with Shanghai Television Station and six district government workers.
The captain and four passengers who had been sitting to the rear of the plane were rushed to Jinshan Hospital around 2pm. The rest were freed from the wreckage and sent to hospital some 20 minutes later.
Five people, including the co-pilot, were pronounced dead by 3:30pm.
Captain Zhang Fuquan, 24, is in a serious condition, while the others suffered fractures and bruising but were in a stable condition, according to the Shanghai Health and Family Planning Commission.
Zhang suffered serious fractures to both legs and blood loss.
Wu Liangliang, the cameraman, said: "Before takeoff, the seaplane had been taxiing on the sea for about 20 minutes. It suddenly accelerated and turned left sharply. The co-pilot shouted 'bridge!' before the seaplane crashed onto it."
The plane was taking off from the sea near Jinshan City Beach when it hit the bridge and began to sink. "It was like a dream," Wu said. "My glasses and camera floated away and I saw several passengers in the front seats bleeding from their faces after the crash."
Wu and the reporter, who were the least badly injured, have been transferred to downtown Ruijin Hospital for treatment
Survivor Song Wanjun, deputy director of the district's news and media center, said: "I pushed out several passengers sitting on the backseats and managed to escape from the back door after the plane crashed, but those sitting on the front seats failed to escape in time.
"I shouted to the stranded passengers to keep calm and wait for rescuers," the 52-year-old said.
Rescuers, including police and firefighters, smashed the plane's windows and pulled out several of the injured with the help of Song, Wu said. The co-pilot and four passengers were rescued after firefighters broke through the body of the plane.
The wreckage was salvaged by 4:45pm and firefighters sprayed water over oil which had spilled during the crash.
Officials with Shanghai's environmental protection authority arrived later to check for any contamination.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.
The seaplane is owned by Joy General Aviation, which is based in the Zhoushan Archipelago.
Liu Shengjun, its chairman, said he would not comment until the in-flight recorder was found.
The 30 million yuan ($4.5 million) seaplane was due to operate a 30-minute charter flight service between Zhoushan and Jinshan District.
The carrier has plans to open another route between Jinshan District and Shengsi County in Zhoushan.
Another seaplane of the same type, also with eight passengers, had taken off 10 minutes earlier on the maiden flight of Jinshan to Shengsi service.
The company was established by Joy Air under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China. It operates sightseeing routes among islands in the archipelago.
Textron Aviation, the U.S.-based maker of Cessna aircraft, said in a statement it is "aware there was an incident at Jinshan, Shanghai, involving a Joy Air-operated Cessna aircraft, and are closely monitoring the situation and will maintain contact with the relevant parties."
