Beijing: A China Eastern passenger jet carrying 133 people has crashed in southwest China and caused a mountain fire with casualties unknown, state broadcaster CCTV reported Monday.
The Boeing 737 plane crashed in the rural countryside near Wuzhou city, Guangxi region and “caused a mountain fire”, CCTV said, citing the provincial emergency management bureau.
A China Eastern Airlines aircraft carrying 133 passengers from Kunming to Guangzhou had an "accident" in the region of Guangxi & caused a fire on the mountains. The jet involved in the accident was a Boeing 737 aircraft & the number of casualties wasn't immediately known: Reuters
— ANI (@ANI) March 21, 2022
The China’s Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said the aircraft lost contact over the city of Wuzhou. It had 123 passengers and nine crew on board. State media said earlier there were 133 people on board.
“The CAAC has activated the emergency mechanism and sent a working group to the scene,” it said in a statement.
Media cited a rescue official as saying the plane had completely disintegrated. A fire sparked by the crash burned down bamboo and trees before being put out.
The flight MU5736 was flying from Guangzhou to Kunming and departed the airport at 13.11 PM. The flight was scheduled to arrive at 15.05 PM.
Back in 2018, a Lion Air Flight 610 operating Boeing 737 Max crashed, while another 737 Max crashed in 2019, operated by Ethiopian Airlines. All Boeing 737 MAX passenger planes were grounded worldwide following the two incidents.
More clips from the crash site pic.twitter.com/0mY1U9Vi7f
— ChinaAviationReview (@ChinaAvReview) March 21, 2022
Another Tweet was shared by user TheLegateIN saying, “A China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 operating flight MU5735 has reportedly crashed near Wuzhou in southern China. Initial reports say 133 onboard.”
Watch:
A China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 operating flight MU5735 has reportedly crashed near Wuzhou in southern China. Initial reports say 133 onboard.pic.twitter.com/iipgQYGkhK
Also Read :- China’s foreign ministry reveals climate change diplomacy with US not bigger than political tension between two nations
— WLVN Analysis🔍 (@TheLegateIN) March 21, 2022
However, the plane operated by China Eastern Airlines is a regular Boeing 737-89P and doesn’t belong to the Max family. The plane was a 6-year-old 737-800 aircraft, according to Flightradar24.
According to Aviation Safety Network, China’s last fatal jet accident was in 2010, when 44 of 96 people on board were killed when an Embraer E-190 regional jet flown by Henan Airlines crashed on approach to Yichun airport in low visibility.
1994, a China Northwest Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 flying from Xian to Guangzhou was destroyed in an accident after takeoff, killing all 160 people on board and ranking as China’s worst-ever air disaster, according to Aviation Safety Network.
