There were 132 people in the plane. Locals have described the plane as completely destroyed and causing a wildfire.
21.3. 13:36 • Updated March 21 14:36
There has been a plane crash in the mountainous region of southern China, authorities said on Monday. A plane from China Eastern Airlines crashed in Teng County near the city of Wuzhou.
There were 132 people in the crashed plane. State media initially said there were 133 people in the plane. There were 123 passengers and nine crew members. All people are feared dead in the accident, writes South China Morning Post (switch to another service).
The passenger plane was apparently en route from Kunming to Guangzhou (Guangzhou) when it crashed in Guangxi area. The cause of the fall is unknown.
According to Chinese television, a huge fireball was spotted in the area immediately after the fall. Rescue crews are on their way to the scene.
According to Chinese media, one local has described the plane as completely destroyed and causing a fire in the terrain. The locals had gone to help hundreds of rescuers put out the fire.
A Nassa satellite has also detected a major fire in a mountainous area.
The Boeing 737-800 was six years old
According to Flightradar24, the aircraft was a Boeing 737-800 that was six years old. According to the site, the plane had quickly lost height shortly before the accident.
The 737-800 model has been more reliable than the subsequent 737 MAX, which did not fly in China for more than three years after accidents around the world. In 2018, a devastating plane crash occurred in Indonesia and in 2019 in Ethiopia with a model 737 MAX.
Representatives of China Eastern Airlines were not immediately contacted to comment on the incident.
U.S. aircraft maker Boeing has not commented on the accident either.
Updated at 2:35 PM: With new information.