Taiwan, February 5 (RHC)-- The death toll from a TransAsia Airways plane crash has increased to 31. According to Taiwanese sources, at least 31 people lost their lives after the TransAsia ATR 72-600 turboprop plane struck a road bridge shortly after take-off and plunged into Keelung River on Wednesday.

The plane carried 53 passengers and five crew members of whom 15 survived the deadly incident. As of Thursday, 12 passengers are still missing and are feared to have been killed. Wu Jun-Hong, a Taiwanese Fire Department official, said he was not “too optimistic” that the rescue teams would find any more survivors.

Meanwhile, officials announced they managed to recover the plane’s two black box flight recorders and plan to decode their data on Thursday. Reports also said that the families of the victims, who were mostly from the Chinese mainland, are scheduled to be taken to Taiwan on Thursday.

"As soon as the entry permit is issued, we will fly the family members there. We are hoping to take them over by tomorrow (Thursday) morning," said Hong Yongjin, the general manager of Xiamen Airlines International Travel Service.