No survivors found in Chinese airliner crash, 132 were aboard
The Boeing 737-800 plane was reported to be flying - at around 29,000 feet - from Kunming in the southwestern province of Yunnan to the industrial center of Guangzhou when it entered a steep dive around 2:20 pm local time. The fire was said to be big enough to be seen in NASA satellite images.
FollowChina’s state broadcaster announced on Tuesday that no survivors have been found in the horrific Monday crash of the China Eastern plane that plunged into a forested mountainous area with 132 people on board.
“Wreckage of the plane was found at the scene, but up until now, none of those aboard the plane with whom contact was lost have been found," state broadcaster CCTV has been quoted as reporting.
China Eastern has grounded its entire Boeing 737-800 fleet after the crash, which is being seen as the country’s worst air disaster in more than a decade.
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The Boeing 737-800 plane was reported to be flying - at around 29,000 feet - from Kunming in the southwestern province of Yunnan to the industrial center of Guangzhou when it entered a steep dive around 2:20 pm local time. The fire was said to be big enough to be seen in NASA satellite images.
Villagers were first to arrive at the forested area where the plane went down on Monday. Hundreds of rescue workers were swiftly dispatched from Guangxi and neighbouring Guangdong province.
The plane was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members, the CAAC said, correcting earlier reports that 133 people had been on board.
The crash created a deep pit in the mountainside, Xinhua news agency reported, citing rescuers. The report said drones and a manual search would be used to try to find the black boxes, which hold the flight data and cockpit voice recorders essential to crash investigations.
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The cause of the crash, which Chinese officials say is the country’s worst air disaster over a decade, was not immediately clear.
The plane plummeted to 7,400 feet before briefly regaining about 1,200 feet in altitude, then dove again. The plane stopped transmitting data 96 seconds after starting to fall.
The flight had taken off from the city of Kunming just after 1 pm and was en route to Guangzhou. The weather in Wuzhou at the time of the crash was partly cloudy with good visibility.
President Xi Jinping had ordered an immediate investigation into the crash, and officials said the country’s vice-premier is overseeing the search and rescue operation.
Also read:Â China's deadliest crash since 2010; Boeing aircraft crashes into hill
