Star Trek star Leonard Nimoy dead at 83: US media - Television News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/television/story/star-trek-star-leonard-nimoy-dead-83-us-media-20150228?xtor=EREC-16-1[ST_Newsletter_AM]-20150228-[Star+Trek+star+Leonard+Nimoy+dead+at+83%3A+US+media]#4

Star Trek star Leonard Nimoy dead at 83: US media

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Actor Leonard Nimoy, who won fans worldwide for his generations-spanning role as the pointy-eared half-human half-Vulcan Mr Spock in the Star Trek television and film franchise, died Friday at age 83.

Nimoy, who suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, died at his home in Los Angeles.

His granddaughter Dani announced the death on his Twitter account.

"He was an extraordinary man, husband, grandfather, brother, actor, author – the list goes on – and friend. Thank you for the warm condolences. May you all LLAP. Dani," she wrote, using the acronym for one of Spock's most famous sayings – "Live long and prosper."

In his last tweet, posted Monday under his handle @TheRealNimoy, Nimoy himself said: "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP"

Tributes quickly poured in from castmates, other actors, fans and the science community.

"I loved him like a brother. We will all miss his humor, his talent, and his capacity to love," said William Shatner, who played the hot-headed Captain James T. Kirk on the ground-breaking Star Trek, which debuted in the 1960s.

"Certainly he was a brilliant actor. But he also believed in working collaboratively," George Takei, who portrayed Mr Sulu on the sci-fi show, told CNN.

"Leonard was also a very dear friend."

"Rip Leonard Nimoy. So many of us at Nasa were inspired by Star Trek. Boldly go..." the US space agency said on Twitter.

CAREER-DEFINING ROLE

Born in Boston on March 26, 1931 to Jewish immigrant parents from what is now Ukraine, Nimoy left for Hollywood at the age of 18, winning a sprinkling of small parts in 1950s television series.

With his square jaw and serious features, Nimoy worked his way into showbiz playing cowboy characters and lawmen before he found a niche that would last a lifetime in science fiction flicks.

In 1966, he was cast in his greatest role as the ever-logical Spock, in the television show Star Trek.

Aboard the spaceship USS Enterprise, science officer Spock and its crew ventured around the galaxy exploring new worlds in death-defying odysseys.

Spock was the cool counterpoint to Kirk, played by Shatner, and the even-tempered sparring partner of ship doctor Leonard "Bones" McCoy, played by DeForest Kelley.

The trinity had ratings-boosting chemistry that sustained Star Trek during its initial four-year run.

The character Spock would be resurrected for several feature films after Star Trek snowballed into a cultural phenomenon in the 1970s and 1980s, making Spock's Vulcan salute and salutation "live long and prosper" a touchstone of the science-fiction world.

Nimoy would later reveal he based the hand gesture on a Jewish blessing.

In addition to acting, Nimoy was an accomplished director.

He directed two of the Star Trek films including one of the most well received, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Nimoy also directed 1987 box-office hit 3 Men and a Baby, starring Tom Selleck.

ROLE MODEL FOR GEEKS

Nimoy, along with some of his co-stars, struggled with the type-casting stardom he was thrown into by legions of earnest and attentive Star Trek fans.

In 1975, he authored the book I Am Not Spock attempting to open up space between himself and the character that had so captured people's imaginations.

While Star Trek fever built, Nimoy starred alongside Donald Sutherland and Jeff Goldblum in Invasion Of The Body Snatchers in 1978, and then alongside Ingrid Bergman in 1982's A Woman Called Golda.

Nimoy would eventually embrace his role as an authority figure in the sci-fi world. He wrote a rebuttal to his earlier memoir in I Am Spock in 1995.

As Spock, Nimoy became a role model for nerds and geeks: he was calm under pressure with a logical response always at the ready.

He related an "embarrassing" anecdote to The New York Times in 2009 when he toured a California university with scientists who looked to Spock for approval.

"Then they'd say to me, 'What do you think?' Expecting me to have some very sound advice. And I would nod very quietly and very sagely I would say, 'You're on the right track,'" he said about his adulation in the science community.

Nimoy had two children with his first wife, and was married to his second wife Susan since 1989.

Nimoy built off his sci-fi and Spock fame for the rest of his career, lending his voice to documentaries, video games and television shows.

He sold "Live Long and Prosper" apparel, and waved the Vulcan salute at Star Trek conventions.

He returned to Star Trek and an older version of his Spock character in the franchise's reboot directed by J.J. Abrams in 2009 and in a 2013 sequel.

Nimoy remained active in his later years, releasing photography books and poetry.

He also took a role on Fringe, a sci-fi TV series that ran from 2008 to 2013 and also directed by Abrams.

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Man sentenced to jail, caning for possession of air pistol in unexecuted bank robbery attempt - Singapore Courts & Crime News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/courts-crime/story/man-sentenced-jail-caning-possession-air-pistol-unexecuted-bank-ro?xtor=EREC-16-2[ST_Newsletter_PM]-20150225-[Man+sentenced+to+jail%2C+caning+for+possession+of+air+pistol+in+unexecuted+bank+robbery+attempt]

Man sentenced to jail, caning for possession of air pistol in unexecuted bank robbery attempt

SINGAPORE - A security executive who was facing financial difficulties came up with an elaborate plan to rob a bank with an illegal air pistol - but got cold feet at the last minute and went to work instead.

Ng Shi Qiang, 31, did extensive online research on bank heists and carried out reconnaissance missions at several banks here.

He decided to target the POSB outlet in Block 926 Yishun Central 1 and turned up there on the morning of Oct 14, 2013, carrying a bag with the pistol and other equipment.

Ng could not bring himself to carry out his plan to rush in the front door when two women arrived to unlock it, as he did not want to hurt them.

He left and stashed the items in a dry riser unit at a nearby HDB block.

But by the time he returned to retrieve them two days later, a resident had already discovered them and called the police.

On Wednesday, Ng was jailed for five years and nine months and ordered to be given six strokes of the cane, after pleading guilty to having unlawful possession of the Beretta pistol. One other charge under the Arms Offences Act, for having various component parts of firearms, was taken into consideration.

The court heard that Ng had received the air pistol from his 27-year-old brother, a regular serviceman in the Singapore Navy. His brother had brought it back from Taiwan in May 2013.

He later decided to rob a bank to pay off his debts, which included $50,000 chalked up on credit cards and a $100,000 loan from his mother-in-law.

Ng has two young children and previously worked as a security guard and army regular.

He could have been jailed for between five and 10 years, and ordered to be given at least six strokes of the cane.

pohian@sph.com.sg

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Singapore Budget 2015: Measures aplenty to support middle-income workers and families - Singapore More Singapore Stories News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

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Singapore Budget 2015: Measures aplenty to support middle-income workers and families

SINGAPORE - Budget 2015, delivered by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Monday, features a multi-pronged approach to provide strong support for Singapore's middle class.

From raising the Central Provident Fund (CPF) salary ceiling to cutting the maid levy, many of the measures announced are aimed at helping middle-class families cope with the cost of living, further their careers and enhance their savings for retirement.

The key measures:

1. Enhanced savings for retirement

The Government will raise the CPF salary ceiling from the current $5,000 to $6,000 from next year and raise contribution rates for older workers.

Workers aged between 50 and 55 will see a 1 percentage point increase in both employer and employee contribution rates. Those between 55 and 60 will get a 1 percentage point raise in employer contribution rates.

Workers aged between 60 and 65 will get a 0.5 percentage point increase in their employer contribution rate.

The Government will also enhance CPF interest rates further in retirement to benefit those with lower balances.

The Government will give an additional 1 per cent interest on the first $30,000 in a member's CPF balances.

This will be given to all CPF members aged 55 and above, on top of the existing 1 per cent extra interest on the first $60,000 of balance, and means that they can earn up to 6 per cent interest in total.

"These are important enhancements. They will be on top of the changes recently proposed by the CPF Advisory Panel, aimed at providing more flexibility and certainty to CPF members, which the Government has accepted," Mr Tharman said.

2. Support for cost of living

The Government will halve the foreign domestic worker concessionary levy from $120 a month to $60 a month. It will also extend the concessionary levy to households with children aged below 16, up from below 12 today.

The annual savings from the reduced levy amount to $720 a year.

"These changes will provide greater support for middle-income families who are taking care of their children and elderly parents," Mr Tharman noted.

The reduction will take effect from May 1, and will benefit 144,500 households.

It will cost the Government about $125 million a year.

The Government will also provide Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC) rebates.

One and two-room HDB households will receive a total of three months of rebates for this year, while three and four-room households will receive two months of rebates. This will cost the Government $80 million.

Furthermore, the Government will provide a Personal Income Tax Rebate of 50 per cent, with a cap of $1,000 so as to ensure that the benefits go mainly to the middle and upper-middle income groups. This will be for the Year of Assessment 2015 - that is, for income earned in 2014.

Some 1.5 million individuals will benefit from the tax rebate, which will cost the Government $717 million.

3. Supporting families with children

The Government will introduce a new Partner Operator (POP) scheme to complement the Anchor Operator (AOP) scheme. Child care operators on the scheme will have to commit to keeping fees affordable, developing their teachers and enhancing quality.

Parents will benefit from lower fees than these centres currently charge, and higher quality care.

For example, a household with median income whose child is enrolled in a centre with the median monthly fee of $900, currently pays $500 a month after receiving a subsidy of $400. If the centre comes onto the POP scheme, the household will pay around $100 less, and can look forward to quality improvements.

Currently, the AOP scheme accounts for one-third of the preschool sector, comprising both child care and kindergartens. Through a combination of the AOP and POP schemes, the Government aims for about half of pre-school children to benefit from enhanced government support for more affordable and quality pre-school by 2020.

This is estimated to cost $250 million over five years.

In addition, the Government will help families pay for pre-school fees through a top-up to the Child Development Accounts (CDAs) of every Singaporean child aged six and below this year.

Those currently without CDAs can open accounts and get the topup. The majority of children will receive $600.

The top-up will cost $126 million and benefit 230,000 children.

4. Supporting careers through new SkillsFuture scheme

The SkillsFuture scheme represents the Governments "next wave of investment in our people", Mr Tharman said.

"Through SkillsFuture, we will help Singaporeans learn at every age, and develop expertise and flair in every field. We will develop a whole array of learning options for individuals to choose as they shape their journey through life."

The Government will support this through higher subsidies and a range of awards and fellowships for those pursuing mastery in their fields.

SkillsFuture will start in schools, where students will be provided with professional education and career counselling to help them make informed choices. The Government will also support improvements to internships in Institutes of Higher Learing and give students more opportunities for international exposure.

The scheme has various components:

* SkillsFuture Credit: To help Singaporeans learn at every age, the Government is introducing a SkillFuture Credit. This is an initial credit of $500 to Singaporeans aged 25 and above, for use on work skills-related courses.

There will be top-ups at regular intervals with credits that Singaporeans can use to help pay for courses of their choice. The credits will not expire.

"There is no need for anyone to rush to use their credit. While some may use their initial $500 immediately for a short programme, others may want to accumulate credits to engage in more substantial training later in their career," Mr Tharman said.

The SkillsFuture Credit can be used for a broad range of courses supported by government agencies. These will include courses offered by local Institutes of Higher Learning and accredited education and training providers, as well as a range of courses that are funded by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA).

To complement this, every Singaporean will be given an online Individual Learning Portfolio - a one-stop education, training, and career guidance resource to help them plan their learning starting from their time in secondary school.

* SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme: This will match polytechnic and ITE graduates with employers. They will start working and undergo structured on-the-job training and mentorship while they study for an industry-recognised qualification.

Both trainees and employers who sign up for this programme will receive substantial support from the Government. This will be done in a phased way, eventually covering up to one in three polytechnic and ITE graduates.

* Subsidies: For Singaporeans aged 40 and above, the Government will increase the education and training subsidy to a minimum of 90 per cent for Ministry of Education and WDA courses. Currently the subsidies come in a range.

"This additional support from the Government recognises the opportunity costs that mid-career Singaporeans face when they go for education and training," Mr Tharman said.

The subsidies mean, for example, that for a part-time undergraduate course such as a Bachelor of Engineering, which is already subsidised, the total fees payable by a student will be reduced by 60 per cent, from about $17,000 to $6,800.

* Awards and Fellowships: To help Singaporeans develop skills and gain mastery in their chosen fields, a SkillsFuture Study Award will be introduced to develop specialist skills in future growth clusters.

Award recipients could include, for example, software developers, satellite engineers or master craftsmen. The awards can also support those who already have deep specialist skills and wish to develop other competencies such as business and cross-cultural skills.

The awards will be introduced in phases from this year to about 2,000 a year eventually.

Meanwhile, a SkillsFuture Fellowship will award about 100 fellowships a year, which can be used for a range of education and training options, in both craft-based and knowledge-based areas.

It will be funded from the SkillsFuture Jubilee Fund, which will be funded by voluntary contributions from employers, unions, the public and the Government.

The SkillsFuture Fellowships will be introduced from next year.

"The SkillsFuture Study Awards and Fellowships will be mainly used to develop deep skills and mastery in the growth clusters of the future. But we will be open to those who want to develop themselves in fields that they are really passionate about," Mr Tharman said.

The Government also aims to involve all stakeholders, such as training institutions, unions, trade associations and employers in this effort.

It will work with these stakeholders to jointly develop Sectoral Manpower Plans to map out skills needed for the future and boost the training capabilities of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through a pool of SkillsFuture Mentors.

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Mr Lee Kuan Yew still warded at SGH, closely monitored by doctors - Singapore More Singapore Stories News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

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Mr Lee Kuan Yew still warded at SGH, closely monitored by doctors

SINGAPORE - Former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew remains warded in the Intensive Care Unit at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH), according to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Thursday morning.

Mr Lee is still sedated and on mechanical ventilation, the statement said.

It added that Mr Lee's doctors have restarted him on antibiotics, and are continuing to monitor him closely.

Mr Lee, 91, was admitted to SGH on Feb 5 with severe pneumonia. The PMO had said on Saturday that his condition was stable, although he remained in intensive care.

On Wednesday night, rumours flew on social media that Mr Lee had died, but government sources told The Straits Times that these were untrue.

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After Google Glass, Apple Watch, Japan offers wearable tomatoes - East Asia News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/east-asia/story/after-google-glass-apple-watch-japan-offers-wearable-tomatoes-20150219?xtor=EREC-16-1%5BST_Newsletter_AM%5D-20150220-%5BAfter+Google+Glass%2C+Apple+Watch%2C+Japan+offers+wearable+tomatoes%5D

After Google Glass, Apple Watch, Japan offers wearable tomatoes

TOKYO (AFP) - As the world's electronic companies scramble to set the agenda for wearable devices, one Japanese vegetable juice maker went one better Thursday, unveiling a wearable tomato machine.

The "Tomatan" is a backpack that can be loaded with six mid-sized tomatoes, enough, say the makers, to power runners through this weekend's Tokyo Marathon.

"Tomatoes have lots of nutrition that combats fatigue," said Shigenori Suzuki of maker Kagome.

The Tomatan looks like a small humanoid robot - with a tomato for a head - and sits snugly on the athlete's shoulders.

Tugging a tiny lever in the foot moves the arms to catch a tomato from the shooter. It then rotates the fruit over the runner's head and holds it in front of his mouth.

"We used about 100 tomatoes to complete this machine," said Nomichi Tosa of creator Meiwa Denki, a company known for its off-the-wall devices and musical instruments.

"We focused mostly on its visual design." Despite the eight-kilogramme (18 pound) weight, Kagome's Suzuki said he will don the device for a a five-kilometre (three-mile) fun-run event on Saturday.

"I will run by his side carrying my tools, just like an F1 mechanic," Tosa said.

In Sunday's full Tokyo Marathon, a runner from Kagome will participate with a lighter wearable tomato machine - the Petit-Tomatan - which weighs only about three kilogrammes, Suzuki said.

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German nurse says 'sorry' for killing over 30 patients in thrill-seeking game - Europe News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

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German nurse says 'sorry' for killing over 30 patients in thrill-seeking game

BERLIN (AFP) - A German former nurse who has admitted killing over 30 hospital patients with lethal injections in a thrill-seeking game to try to revive them apologised on Thursday to relatives of the victims.

"I am honestly sorry," the 38-year-old said at his trial, where he so far faces three murder charges, adding that he had usually acted on impulse when he injected patients with lethal drug doses.

"Usually the decision to do it was relatively spontaneous," the defendant, who was identified only as Niels H. under Germany's strict court reporting rules, said in his first comments to the court.

He said he knew his actions could not be excused and that he hoped that if he is convicted, the verdict would help the victims' loved ones find peace, national news agency DPA reported.

The former nurse went on trial in Oldenburg in northern Germany in September, accused of the murders of three patients and attempted murders of two others, using a heart medication that lowers blood pressure.

A psychiatric expert last month told the trial that the man had admitted to those crimes and that he also claimed to have over-medicated another 90 patients, 30 of whom died.

The court heard his motive was to spark medical emergencies so that he could then demonstrate his resuscitation skills, but that he also acted out of boredom.

The defendant told the court Thursday he was indeed seeking thrills, saying: "There was a tension there, and an expectation of what would happen next."

He said he felt great when he managed to resuscitate a patient, and devastated when he failed.

Each time a patient died, he vowed to never play his lethal game again, but this determination would then slowly fade, he said.

LETHAL INJECTIONS

The deaths occurred at Delmenhorst clinic, near Oldenburg, where the accused worked in the intensive care unit between 2003 and 2005.

The former nurse denied having killed anyone at his previous jobs in other clinics, at an elderly home and for emergency medical services.

A special commission of police and prosecutors dubbed "Kardio" (Cardio) is currently investigating all deaths that occurred in the defendants' previous work places.

The defendant was caught by a colleague in the act of injecting patients in 2005.

In a first trial in Oldenburg, a district court in 2008 sentenced him to seven and a half years in jail for attempted murder, and he has been in detention since.

It is unclear why investigators or the hospital did not pick up on the possible extent of the alleged crimes earlier.

The shocking case is not the first of its kind in Germany.

In 2006, German male nurse Stephan Letter, who became known in the media as "the Angel of Death", was sentenced to life in prison for administering lethal injections to 28 mostly elderly patients in what prosecutors called an "assembly line" killing spree.

A year later, a nurse at Berlin's prestigious Charite hospital was sentenced to life in prison for killing five seriously ill patients with drug overdoses.

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TransAsia plane crash: Pilot's body found still clutching joystick of crashed plane; death toll rises to 35 - East Asia News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

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TransAsia plane crash: Pilot's body found still clutching joystick of crashed plane; death toll rises to 35

TAIPEI (REUTERS) - The pilot of a doomed TransAsia plane, hailed as a hero for his actions in the final moments before a crash in densely-populated Taipei on Wednesday, was still holding the joystick in the plane's cockpit when his body was found, media reported on Friday.

The death toll of the accident rose to 35 as of Friday afternoon, the airline said in its latest press release, after four more bodies were found. Eight of the 58 onboard the remained missing, it said. Another 15 were injured. 

The pilot, identified by TransAsia as 42-year-old Liao Chien-tsung, has been praised by Taipei's mayor for steering the plane between apartment blocks and commercial buildings before ditching the stalled aircraft in a river.

TransAsia Flight GE235 was carrying 58 passengers and crew when it lurched nose-up between buildings, clipped an overpass and a taxi with one of its wings and then crashed upside down into a shallow river after taking off on Wednesday.

The bodies of Liao and his co-pilot were retrieved from the almost-new turboprop ATR 72-600's cockpit still clutching the joystick, with their legs badly broken, investigators said. "They were still trying to save this aircraft until the last minute," Taiwanese media quoted unidentified prosecutors involved in the crash investigation as saying.

Media quoted city officials as saying the death toll would have been much worse if the plane had crashed into any of the buildings it narrowly missed.

Taiwan aviation officials have said they have not given up hope of finding those missing.

The voice and data recorders from the plane have been recovered and a more conclusive picture of the plane's final moments will emerge when information from them is released.

Media reported that some of the information could be released later on Friday.

The last communication from one of the pilots was "Mayday Mayday engine flameout", according to an air traffic control recording on liveatc.net.

A flameout can occur when the fuel supply to an engine is interrupted or when there is faulty combustion, but twin-engined aircraft can usually keep flying with one engine. The plane was powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW127M engines. Pratt & Whitney is part of United Technologies.

The plane took off from Taipei's downtown Songshan airport and was bound for the Taiwan island of Kinmen. Among those on board were 31 tourists from China, mainly from the southwestern city of Xiamen.

Taiwan's aviation regulator has ordered TransAsia and Uni Air, a subsidiary of EVA Airways Corp 2618.TW, to conduct engine and fuel system checks on the remaining 22 ATR aircraft they still operate.

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145 deaths this year as deadly flu bug hits Hong Kong - East Asia News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/more-asia-stories/story/145-deaths-year-deadly-flu-bug-hits-hong-kong-20150210?xtor=EREC-16-1[ST_Newsletter_AM]-20150210-[145+deaths+this+year+as+deadly+flu+bug+hits+Hong+Kong]

145 deaths this year as deadly flu bug hits Hong Kong

From petitioning people to donate blood, to reminding them of good hygiene habits, Hong Kong is trying to tackle the flu outbreak that has killed nearly 150 people this year.

That is more than the 136 flu fatalities through all of last year.

The Hong Kong Red Cross is appealing for people to donate blood, as demand has increased.

The authorities and doctors are also stepping up calls for those with flu symptoms to seek anti-viral therapy quickly, while urging the population to take precautions, such as washing their hands more frequently.

As of yesterday, 145 people had died in this year's flu outbreak.

"There is no doubt that the outbreak is much bigger than usual because it is a different variant affecting the population," said Professor Malik Peiris, director of the School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong.

One key reason is that the annual flu vaccine is effective for less than 5 per cent of Hong Kongers hit by the flu this year.

This is even lower than the 23 per cent protected by the jab in the United States.

This, in turn, compares poorly with the 10 per cent to 60 per cent range of the previous decade.

The vaccine was developed by the World Health Organisation before the variant of the H3N2 strain emerged. So, while it covers those who have been infected with the strains of previous years, it does not protect those with the new H3N2 variant.

As the Hong Kong flu season arrives later - after the November to January flu season in the US and other parts of the northern hemisphere - H3N2 would have developed and had a stronger grip, he explained.

"So by the time the virus reaches Hong Kong, more than 95 per cent of those infected are infected by the new strain."

Hong Kong's population density is another reason why the city has been hit hard compared with other cities along the same latitude, such as Taipei.

The flu season usually hits Hong Kong from January to March, and the concern now is over how much longer it will last. There is a "distinct possibility" it will extend to April or even May, warned Hong Kong Food and Health Secretary Ko Wing Man.

For now, the authorities are "doubling our effort in sourcing vaccines", said Dr Ko.

"Hopefully, the vaccine could arrive in April to help us in preventing an excessive outbreak in summer this year."

The worst-case scenario is if the winter and summer flu seasons - the latter usually begins in July or August - merge, as has happened in previous years.

Much will depend on the weather, said Professor David Hui of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. "If it warms up a bit, the virus may become less active."

xueying@sph.com.sg

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TransAsia plane crash: Pilot's body found still clutching joystick of crashed plane; death toll rises to 35 - East Asia News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/east-asia/story/pilots-body-found-still-clutching-joystick-crashed-transasia-plane-2015020?xtor=EREC-16-2[ST_Newsletter_PM]-20150206-[TransAsia+plane+crash%3A+Pilot%27s+body+found+still+clutching+joystick+of+crashed+plane%3B+death+toll+rises+to+35]

TransAsia plane crash: Pilot's body found still clutching joystick of crashed plane; death toll rises to 35

TAIPEI (REUTERS) - The pilot of a doomed TransAsia plane, hailed as a hero for his actions in the final moments before a crash in densely-populated Taipei on Wednesday, was still holding the joystick in the plane's cockpit when his body was found, media reported on Friday.

The death toll of the accident rose to 35 as of Friday afternoon, the airline said in its latest press release, after four more bodies were found. Eight of the 58 onboard the remained missing, it said. Another 15 were injured. 

The pilot, identified by TransAsia as 42-year-old Liao Chien-tsung, has been praised by Taipei's mayor for steering the plane between apartment blocks and commercial buildings before ditching the stalled aircraft in a river.

TransAsia Flight GE235 was carrying 58 passengers and crew when it lurched nose-up between buildings, clipped an overpass and a taxi with one of its wings and then crashed upside down into a shallow river after taking off on Wednesday.

The bodies of Liao and his co-pilot were retrieved from the almost-new turboprop ATR 72-600's cockpit still clutching the joystick, with their legs badly broken, investigators said. "They were still trying to save this aircraft until the last minute," Taiwanese media quoted unidentified prosecutors involved in the crash investigation as saying.

Media quoted city officials as saying the death toll would have been much worse if the plane had crashed into any of the buildings it narrowly missed.

Taiwan aviation officials have said they have not given up hope of finding those missing.

The voice and data recorders from the plane have been recovered and a more conclusive picture of the plane's final moments will emerge when information from them is released.

Media reported that some of the information could be released later on Friday.

The last communication from one of the pilots was "Mayday Mayday engine flameout", according to an air traffic control recording on liveatc.net.

A flameout can occur when the fuel supply to an engine is interrupted or when there is faulty combustion, but twin-engined aircraft can usually keep flying with one engine. The plane was powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW127M engines. Pratt & Whitney is part of United Technologies.

The plane took off from Taipei's downtown Songshan airport and was bound for the Taiwan island of Kinmen. Among those on board were 31 tourists from China, mainly from the southwestern city of Xiamen.

Taiwan's aviation regulator has ordered TransAsia and Uni Air, a subsidiary of EVA Airways Corp 2618.TW, to conduct engine and fuel system checks on the remaining 22 ATR aircraft they still operate.

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TransAsia plane crash in Taipei: At least 26 killed, plane's tail lifted ashore - East Asia News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/east-asia/story/transasia-airways-plane-crash-lands-taipei-river-more-10-hurt-reports-2015?xtor=EREC-16-1[ST_Newsletter_AM]-20150205-[TransAsia+plane+crash+in+Taipei%3A+At+least+26+killed%2C+plane%27s+tail+lifted+ashore]

TransAsia plane crash in Taipei: At least 26 killed, plane's tail lifted ashore

At least 26 people were killed and 17 remain missing after a TransAsia Airways plane crashed into a river in New Taipei City on Wednesday.

The ATR-72-600 turboprop aircraft with 58 onboard, of whom 31 are tourists from mainland China, was flying from Taipei to the offshore island of Kinmen when it crashed into the Keelung River at about 11am, CNA and Reuters said. The plane apparently rammed into the Nanyang Bridge elevated highway in New Taipei City, which encircles Taipei, before falling into the river, the Central News Agency (CNA) said.

The crash happened only two minutes after flight GE235 took off from Songshan Airport in Taipei at 10.52am, and was suspected to be due to insufficient propelling force, according to United Daily News (UDN) website. The aircraft's cockpit-voice recorder and flight-data recorder have been recovered for analysis.

As time ticked away for those inside the fuselage, rescue boats surrounded the wreckage which remains in the middle of the river, with 400 soldiers drafted in to help.  

Emergency crews standing on sections of wreckage tried to pull passengers out of the plane with ropes. Those who were rescued were put in dinghies and taken to the shore.  

By 9pm, about 10 hours after the crash, a 700-tonne crane lifted the tail of the plane ashore, leaving the other half still stuck in the riverbed. The latest death toll has hit 25, as rescuers continue to search for 17 missing victims.

TransAsia said 16 survivors had been pulled out of the wreckage.

Taipei City Fire Department acting commissioner Wu Chun-hong told reporters that efforts to reach the victims are slow as the passengers seats are mangled and the front section of the plane - where some of the missing victims are believed to be - is stuck in the riverbed, according to UDN. 

The jet was carrying five crew members and 53 passengers.

Authorities cannot ascertain if all the missing people are still inside the plane as eye witnesses claimed to have seen passengers being flung out of the plane as it plunged into the river.

Mr Wang Hsing-chung, an Aviation Safety Council spokesman, said the plane's black boxes have been recovered and investigators will begin reading the data on Wednesday night.

TransAsia's chief executive, Mr Peter Chen, bowed deeply at a televised news conference on Wednesday afternoon as he apologised to passengers and crew.  

-- PHOTO: XINHUA

The pilot radioed a "Mayday, Mayday" distress call at 10:54am but did not respond when air traffic controllers answered, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. 

A CNN report said the pilot can be heard saying, "GE235. Mayday, mayday. Engine flameout," according to a recording verified by LiveATC.net, which records air traffic control feeds.

The pilot lost contact with the ground within four minutes, the airline's Chief Executive Officer Peter Chen said.

Eyewitness on the ground was cited as saying the aircraft was flying "almost 90 degrees on its side" and going increasingly lower until it hit the highway bridge and crashed into the river.

CNA posted on its website dramatic photos of the plane hitting the highway, as a taxi on the highway apparently swerved to avoid being hit. 

Footage taken from a dashboard-mounted camera in a car showed the plane's wings tilted at a steep angle as it swerved over a bridge, with one tip clipping a taxi and the railing before plunging into the Keelung River.

The taxi driver and his passenger were slightly hurt in the crash and have been hospitalised for observation, the report said.

The weather appeared to be clear when the plane took off. Television pictures also showed some damage to a bridge next to the river, with small pieces of the aircraft scattered along the road.

In a statement issued by TransAsia on Wednesday afternoon, the airline said four children are among those injured and currently receiving treatment at hospitals. Among the 31 Chinese passengers, three are children. All remaining people on the plane, including three pilots and two flight attendants, are locals.

The statement added that the damaged plane, the ATR-72-600, was delivered to TransAsia just last April. It was last serviced only a week ago on Jan 26.

TransAsia, a privately-owned airline founded in 1951, suffered a serious crash last July when flight GE222 crashed near the airport at Magong on the Penghu island chain during a rainstorm, killing 48 people and injuring 10 others. That aircraft was also an ATR-72.

The Singapore Trade Office in Taipei said on Wednesday it is " shocked and deeply saddened" by the crash of flight GE235.

"We have contacted TransAsia and confirmed that no Singaporeans were on board," it said in a statement.

TransAsia is Taiwan's third-largest carrier. The plane involved in Wednesday's mishap was among the first of the ATR 72-600s, the latest variant of the turboprop aircraft, that TransAsia received in 2014.

They are among an order of eight placed by TransAsia in 2012. The aircraft have 72 seats each. The planes are mainly used to connect Taiwan's capital, Taipei, to the island's smaller cities.

The airline also operates Airbus A320 and A330 planes on domestic and international services.

ATR is a joint venture between Airbus and Alenia Aermacchi, a subsidiary of Italy's Finmeccanica services.

seokhwai@sph.com.sg

With input from Reuters and Agence France-Presse

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