Both engines of the TransAsia ATR 72-600 that crashed in Taiwan this week failed before it plummeted into a river, killing at least 35 people, the local aviation safety council said Friday.

"Based on the data we have so far we can see that for a period of time both engines showed no thrust," said Thomas Wang, director of the agency that is investigating the cause of the accident.

"The right engine flamed out and triggered a warning in the cockpit. The left engine was shut down by command and the pilot tried to restart the engine but couldn't," Wang said.

The TransAsia Airways plane carrying 58 people on board crashed shortly after take-off on Wednesday, hitting an elevated road as it banked steeply away from buildings and into the Keelung River.

Rescuers are still searching the river and submerged wreckage for eight passengers who remain missing.

The accident, which occurred on Wednesday on a domestic route to the island of Kinmen, was the second fatal crash for TransAsia after a disaster killed 48 people in July 2014.

Taiwan's security chief King Pu-tsung resigned on Friday for health and family considerations, according to a statement by the office of Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou. The top aide to Ma, Timothy Yang, has also resigned from his post.

The TransAsia Airways said Friday all its 71 pilots of its fleet of 10 ATR planes will have to take a skills test to make sure they are qualified.