Story highlights Taxi driver to dispatch: "A plane flew by and hit me"

Lin Ming-wei's son was blue with no heartbeat when his father spotted his feet in the water

Lin's family is one of a handful of survivors of this week's airplane crash in Taiwan

(CNN) As they took their seats on a TransAsia Airways flight that crashed in Taipei on Wednesday, Lin Ming-wei and his young family were looking forward to a vacation on Kinmen, an island in the Taiwan Strait.

Minutes later, Lin was fighting his way out of the plane's wreckage and searching frantically for his toddler in the shallow, murky waters of the Keelung River.

Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan TransAsia Airways Flight GE235 clips a bridge in Taipei, Taiwan, shortly after takeoff Wednesday, February 4, in this still image taken from video. The ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop airplane then plunged into the Keelung River. More than 30 of the 58 passengers on board have been confirmed dead. Hide Caption 1 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan Divers continue search operations at the crash site in Taipei on Friday, February 6. Hide Caption 2 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan Relatives watch divers recover bodies from the crash site on February 6. Hide Caption 3 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan Emergency personnel carry a body recovered from the water on February 6. Hide Caption 4 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan A crane lifts part of the wreckage at the crash site in Taipei on Thursday, February 5. Hide Caption 5 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan Wreckage sits on the bank of the Keelung River on February 5. Hide Caption 6 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan The tail of Flight GE235 is hoisted out of the water February 5. Hide Caption 7 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan Rescuers lift the plane's wreckage from the Keelung River on February 4. Hide Caption 8 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan Rescuers search for debris on February 4. Hide Caption 9 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan The plane's mangled fuselage gets pulled to the riverbank February 4. Hide Caption 10 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan Rescue operations are underway around the wreckage of the plane on February 4. Hide Caption 11 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan Emergency personnel help an injured passenger onto land on February 4. Hide Caption 12 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan Rescue personnel search for passengers from the wreckage in the Keelung River in Taipei on February 4. Hide Caption 13 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan Rescuers carry an injured passenger on a stretcher up the riverbank on February 4. Hide Caption 14 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan Police investigate the bridge that the plane hit on February 4. Hide Caption 15 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan Debris from the plane sits on the bridge in Taipei on February 4. Hide Caption 16 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan Rescue personnel assist passengers as they wait to be transported to land on February 4. Hide Caption 17 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan Debris from the plane crash is lined up along the riverbank on February 4. Hide Caption 18 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan Rescuers work to free people from the wreckage in the Keelung River on February 4. Hide Caption 19 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan Rescue personnel search for passengers in the Keelung River on February 4. Hide Caption 20 of 21 Photos: TransAsia plane crashes into river in Taiwan Rescue personnel put an injured passenger into an ambulance on February 4. Hide Caption 21 of 21

He searched for three minutes before spotting his son's feet in the water.

"When he pulled him out, he had no heartbeat," Lin Ming-wei's brother, using his English name Chris Lin, told CNN. "His lips were blue. There was no sign of life in him."

Lin Ming-wei didn't give up, performing CPR on his son.

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