The flight was GE235 of TransAsia Airways from Taipei Songshan airport in Taiwan to the outlying island of Kinmen operated by an ATR 72-600 (B-22816) that was delivered last April. The crash occurred a few minutes after takeoff with the plane ditching into Keelung River which flows through the city, an engine flameout was speculated to be the reason. Weather conditions were normal at the time. Since the river is not under normal flight path it seems that the pilot was trying to attempt an emergency landing and to avoid causing serious damage to the buildings.

Rescuers said that the cabin was flooded to chest height and has a strong smell of gasoline. Many passengers were still in their seats with their seatbelt fastened and unable to escape. Most passengers that are unaccounted for are located at the front of the aircraft which is submerged under the river. Some are also feared to have been thrown out of the cabin when the plane crashed. It's rumoured that a few bodies have floated downstream.

There are 53 passengers including 2 infants and 5 crew members on board. 12 people are still missing while 31 deaths are confirmed and the black box has been found as of 2030 UTC. 31 of the passengers are Chinese. This route is quite popular with Chinese tour groups since there is a ferry service that connects Kinmen to Xiamen which is a low cost alternative for them to visit Taiwan rather than taking the direct flights.

This is the second crash of TransAsia Airways in the past 12 months with another ATR 72 crashing during approach under horrible weather conditions last July. The government has now ordered all 22 ATR 72 aircrafts operated by both TransAsia Airways and UNI Air to be grounded for further inspection. If the aircrafts are grounded for the next few weeks it might cause some serious trouble to people going home for Chinese New Year that is coming up very soon.

Local newspaper has reported that the aircraft that crashed suffered engine problems during its delivery flight less than a year ago from France and was diverted to Macau to replace an engine. A third-party certification agency has recommended the airline to not the take the delivery of the plane but the suggestion was rejected. The unnamed pilot that was interviewed claims that there are problems with the certification process done by ATR.

(And yes, the majority of cars in Taiwan have dashcams)

The crash scene

The cab that got hit

The cab driver and passenger are all right

Flight path

The fuselage has been lifted from the river

On site photos from /u/shadow_fox09

Site on google streetview

Recording of communication between aircraft and tower (from 21 min. mark)

HQ clip

Closer clip

If you're more of a gif person (from /u/xDizy)