Taiwan TransAsia plane crash: Pictures show 'luckiest man alive' emerging from taxi speared by wing

Is this the luckiest man alive?
These stunning pictures show the driver of the taxi hit by the wing of the falling Taiwanese plane in Taipei, walking out of the vehicle just seconds after the crash.

Lucky Escape: A man emerges from the wrecked taxi, hit by a wing from the falling Taiwan plane

The yellow cab was crushed by the falling flight, shattering the windscreen and destroying the bonnet.
But in the images, you can see a man getting out of the driver's side of the vehicle before appearing to stagger and then sit by the side of the road.

Smashed Cab: The man leaves the driver side, then staggers to the side of the road on the right of the picture

One picture appears to show him sat hunched against the roadside making a mobile phone call.
Video has also been released showing the driver checking the boot of the vehicle in the moments after the crash - apparently checking on the contents to see if everything was ok.

The wing of #TransAsia #GE235 clipped a taxi cab - Look closely in the first picture. #Taiwan pic.twitter.com/tY6nEuBCLN
— Pranaav Jadhav (@pranaavj) February 4, 2015

At least 11 people were killed and up to 19 were missing after a Taiwanese TransAsia Airways plane with 58 passengers and crew on board crashed into a river shortly after taking off from a downtown Taipei airport.

The taxi that was hit by a passenger plane before it crashed into a river in Taiwan @7NewsAdelaide Details at 6PM pic.twitter.com/nr8IAOegAE
— Elspeth Hussey (@ElspethHussey7) February 4, 2015

As many as 28 people however appeared to have escaped miraculously from the crash after the plane lurched sickeningly between buildings, clipped an overpass with its port-side wing and crashed upside down in the shallow river.

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Dramatic pictures taken by a motorist and posted on Twitter showed the plane cartwheeling over the motorway soon after the turboprop ATR 72-600 aircraft took off in apparently clear weather on a domestic flight for the island of Kinmen.

Rex

Shocking Moment: The passenger jet carrying 58 people crashes into river, Taipei, Taiwan

Television footage showed survivors wearing life jackets wading and swimming clear of wreckage.
Others, including a young child, were taken to shore by rescuers.
Emergency rescue officials in inflatable boats crowded around the partially submerged fuselage of flight GE235, lying on its side in the river, trying to help those on board.

Rex

Near Miss: The flight's plight was captured on a dashboard camera by a passing car

Taiwan's fire department classified 10 of the passengers as showing "no sign of life" and one killed. Twenty-eight people had been rescued, it said in a text message, leaving 19 still unaccounted for.
Other Taiwanese government authorities said the plane was carrying 58 passengers and crew,including 31 tourists from mainland China.
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The plane appeared to miss apartment buildings by metres. Footage showed a van skidding to a halt on the damaged overpass after barely missing the plane's wing, with small pieces of the aircraft scattered along the road.
The chief executive of TransAsia, Chen Xinde, bowed deeply at a televised news conference as he apologised to passengers and crew.