BREAKING: Plane With 132 Onboard Crashes in South China - VIDEOS
Source: China Daily, Global Times
For the below videos, please be aware that they may be troubling to some people to watch. Viewer descretion is advised.
Official statement from the CAAC.
What has been reported was the wreckage and forest fire caused by it.
A China Eastern Boeing 737 with 132 onboard crashed and caused a mountain fire in South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the number of casualties is not clear yet, the official website of Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said on Monday afternoon.
This is the first air crash in China since a fatal incident in Yichun, Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province back in 2010.
As per the data, the plane dropped from 29,100 feet to 3225 feet in 2 minutes and 36 seconds.
The plane, MU 5735 took off from Kunming Changshui airport in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province at 13:15, and was scheduled to arrive at Guangzhou, South China’s Guangdong Province at 15:07.
The plane has 132 onboard, including 123 passengers, and nine crew members.
The CAAC initiated the nation's emergency response mechanism and dispatched a working group to the crash site to investigate. No information concerning casualties was available.
The data reading of the journey.
A village official, surnamed Zhou, who participated in the on-site rescue said the plane had completely disintegrated and he did not see remains of the victims at the scene, according to Chutian Metropolis Daily - a newspaper based in Wuhan, Hubei province.
The plane wreckage, as per reports.
The village official said the crash has caused a forest fire around the site. Firefighters have arrived and extinguished most of the blaze.
At present, rescue teams have been deployed and are approaching the crash site, Xinhua reported.
China Eastern Airlines could not be reached for comment as of press time.
Around 3pm Monday, the Wuzhou Fire Brigade deployed a rescue team to the scene of the accident, an official from the Brigade told the Global Times on Monday.
What is reported as the plane falling from the sky. Viewer warning!
“We sent 25 fire engines and 117 firefighters to the scene, but as the accident site is too remote and in the mountains, fire engines could not reach the wreckage, firefighters entered on foot,” said an official of the Brigade via phone.
The first deployment of firefighters has already arrived on the scene, with backup available if needed, the Brigade said.
The aircraft involved is a Boeing 737, belonging to the Yunnan subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines and has been in operation of just over six and a half years. The plane was delivered in June of 2015.
The aircraft has a total of 162 seats, including 12 business class seats and 150 economy class seats.
Smoke from the reported plane wreckage.
As of February 19, 2022, the continuous safe flight time of China's civil aviation transport aviation had exceeded 100 million hours, representing the best safety performance in the history of China's civil aviation industry and the best continuous safe flight record in the history of civil aviation worldwide.
A picture showing the plane wreckage.
Shares of China Eastern Airlines plummeted more than 10 percent in US trading premarket.
In addition to the above, the Forest Fire Bureau has sent a team from Guangdong and Guangxi Garrison members, totaling 450 people to the scene. A team of 300 from Guangdong is expected to arrive at 6:30PM on March 21st, and 150 from Guangxi at 10PM March 21st.