Chinese plane with 132 aboard crashes

Beijing, March 21

A Chinese passenger plane with 132 persons on board crashed in the southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday, the regional emergency management department said.

The Boeing 737 aircraft of China Eastern Airlines, which flew from Kunming to Guangzhou, crashed in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou, causing a fire on the mountains.

The 132 persons included 123 passengers and nine crew members, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on its website. The number of casualties was not clear yet, the report said.

The Wuzhou fire brigade has sent 117 firefighters with 23 fire trucks to the site. Further 538 firefighters from other parts of Guangxi have been dispatched to join the rescue efforts, the regional fire department said.

The fire has been put out and the rescue operation is underway, said Chen Jie, an official with the regional emergency management department.

State-run CGTN reported that the first rescue team has reached the crash site in the remote mountains.

Premier Li Keqiang urged efforts to console the families of the victims and provide them with assistance, release accurate information in a timely manner, conduct a serious probe into the incident, and take strong measures to strengthen the safety of civil aviation.

Work teams have been dispatched to the scene by relevant departments. Rescue forces from Guangxi and neighboring Guangdong Province have been mobilised.

Following the accident, videos and pictures purporting to come from the scene started circulating on social media showing smoke billowing from a hillside and wreckage on the ground.

China’s airlines had recorded over 100 million continuous hours of safe flight as of February 19, according to Zhu Tao, an official with the Civil Aviation Administration, the Post reported. — PTI

Xi orders all-out rescue efforts

Chinese President Xi Jinping said he was “shocked” to learn about the crash and ordered an “all-out search” and rescue efforts. He said swift action should be taken to identify the cause of the crash. PTI

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