Religious rites to honour dead in Taiwan plane crash as bodies flown home

Bereaved families of 40 people killed in last week’s TransAsia Airways plane crash in Taiwan held a religious ceremony tonight to honour the dead as the bodies of three victims were repatriated to mainland China.

Clad in black, many relatives sobbed uncontrollably as Buddhist masters led them to a ceremonial hall in Taipei where sutras were recited to comfort the living and send the deceased to peace. The ceremony, held by abbots of Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Monastery based in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, lasted for three hours.

The media was kept away from the relatives by guards hired by TransAsia to ensure they were not disturbed.

Earlier in the morning, the families of three of the mainlanders who died, Hu Shaoling, Huang Yucheng and Yang Xiaoli, escorted their remains back to Xiamen, in southeastern Fujian province - just opposite Taiwan's former defence outpost of Quemoy - on board Mandarin Airlines Flight AE991, the Taiwan Tourism Bureau said. "They were keen to take the remains [of their loved ones] back home for their own memorial and funeral services, so we helped to arrange for them to board a plane bound for Xiamen at about 8.40am," a bureau official said.

Government agencies across Taiwan would fly their flags at half-mast on Tuesday, the cabinet said. An official funeral ceremony will also be held for the relatives, friends and members of the public at Taipei's Second Funeral Parlor.

The families of the other mainland victims that have been found have yet to decide whether their relatives would be cremated in Taiwan, said TransAsia Airways, which would offer transportation assistance if needed. The airline's officials said it would negotiate with the families of the dead and injured about compensation amounts tomorrow.

Flight GE235 was carrying 58 people on board when it experienced engine problems shortly after taking off from Taipei Songshan Airport on Wednesday. The plane clipped a highway overpass as it banked sharply and crashed into the river.

Of the 53 passengers, 31 were from the mainland - 26 of whom were killed. Fifteen people survived, and three remain missing. "Compensation payments for both the local and the mainland passengers will be the same," said Liu Chung-chi, a TransAsia spokesman, adding the issue would be discussed after funeral services were completed.

The level of compensation is expected to be no less than the NT$14.9 million (HK$3.65 million) paid to each of the families of 48 people killed in July when another TransAsia plane crashed in Penghu.

Meanwhile, the family of pilot Liao Chien-tsung – hailed a hero for managing to avoid highly populated areas before the crash when the aircraft developed engine problems – have held his funeral.

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, who paid tribute to Liao for helping to save the lives of at least 200,000 Taipei residents, also attended the ceremony.

However, initial findings of Taiwan’s Aviation Safety Council show that after one of the two engines of Fight GE235 developed a problem, instead of fixing the problem, the second engine of the turboprop aircraft was shut down.

The aircraft had no engine power for 72 seconds.

Additional reporting Xinhua