PM Modi 'shocked, saddened' over China plane crash with 132 onboard, prays for victims

synopsis

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed sorrow over the crash of a China Eastern Boeing 737 passenger plane in a mountain range in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou. The aircraft, operated by China Eastern Airlines, had 132 - 123 passengers and nine crew on board.

Taking to Twitter, PM Modi conveyed his grief over the incident and wrote, “Deeply shocked and saddened to learn about the crash of the passenger flight MU5735 with 132 onboard in China’s Guangxi. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the crash and their family members.”

A China Eastern Airlines plane with 132 people on board crashed in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday, causing a forest fire, Sputnik reported citing China Central Television (CCTV).

According to CCTV, the search and rescue operations are underway, the Russian News Agency reported.

Emergency teams have reached the crash site, but news agency Reuters quoted a People's Daily report (which quoted a local firefighter) that said there were 'no signs of survivors'.

The aircraft reportedly lost contact around 2.15 pm local time while it was flying at over 30,000 feet. It stopped transmitting the data to the air traffic controller near the city of Wuzhou and then suddenly was spotted coming down from the sky in a deep dive.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, meanwhile, expressed shock over the horrific crash and called out for all-out efforts to locate the survivors. He also instructed officials to launch an emergency response immediately and to investigate the cause of the crash as soon as possible.

China Eastern has said it will ground all of its Boeing 737-800 jets from Tuesday.