A China Eastern Airlines plane Boeing 737 carrying 132 people on board fatally crashed in the mountainous region of Guangxi, China on Monday. According to the early reports, there are no survivors.
According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, China Eastern Airlines flight no. 5735 was traveling from Kunming heading towards Guangzhou carrying 123 passengers and 9 members of the crew when it met a fatal crash in the mountains of Teng County, Wuzhou, Guangxi.
The fallen plane caught fire immediately which was extinguished by the local fire department.
Rescue teams reached the site of the crash immediately with little hope of finding any survivors.
The local fire department also gathered at the crash site in order to assist the rescue operations with their 650 workers.
The state media channel of China, CCTV showcased pictures and videos of the crash site where the area can be seen engulfed in heavy smoke and blazing fire. The smoky clouds could be seen rising in the sky at the crash site.
The said aircraft was in use by the airline since 2015 and there had been no technical problems before. An investigation has been started to determine the reason behind the fatal crash.
The crashed plane was a Boeing 737 MAX. It is not the same model which was grounded in 2019 across the world because of a series of air traffic accidents and crashes.
The president of China, Xi Jinping has announced “an all-out effort” for the rescue operation of the crashed airplane. He further said, “We are shocked to learn of the China Eastern MU5735 accident.”
The Airline company Boeing released a statement saying, “We are aware of the initial media reports and are working to gather more information,”
It is expected that the investigation ordered by the Chinese government will be carried out independently on their own. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board might intervene in the investigation if asked for help along with the aid of the Federal Aviation Administration.
“The FAA is aware of reports that a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane crashed this morning in China,” FAA officials said in a statement. “The agency is ready to assist in investigation efforts if asked.”
Chinese airlines are considered to be one of the safest airlines in the world. They have more than 100 million safe hours of operation.
According to the data, the last domestic crash reported in China took place back in 2010 when a domestic airline plane crashed in Yichun, Heilongjiang – all 42 people on board died in the crash.
