Witnesses have recounted the moment a China Eastern Airlines Boeing plane carrying 132 people broke up after crashing into the ground.
Chinese media reported on March 21 that a Boeing 737 of China Eastern Airlines carrying 132 people crashed in Wuzhou city, Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guangxi province, southern China. At the time of the crash, the plane was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members.
Jimu News quoted a local resident at the scene of the crash as saying that the plane broke up and caused a fire, burning down trees before the local fire department extinguished most of the flames.
Hundreds of firefighters were dispatched to the scene, while villagers in a nearby village also rushed to assist in rescue efforts.
"Everybody was running towards that mountain," said Tang Min, a restaurant owner a few kilometers from the crash site.
Large clouds of smoke rose from the area where the plane crashed. Some residents discovered debris, believed to be from the wings and fuselage, some with the words China Eastern Airlines. Witnesses said the plane went straight to the ground in a sparsely populated area.
The China News Service news agency quoted a resident surnamed Liu as saying that he rode a motorbike to the scene of the accident with three other people to assist the rescue team. They saw parts of the crashed plane scattered on the ground and pieces of clothing hanging from trees. However, they did not see any bodies.
There is currently no information on casualties, damage as well as information related to the composition of passengers on the flight.
The New York Times quoted locals as saying that the plane broke into pieces, making hopes of finding survivors very low.
According to data from a flight tracking website, a Boeing 737 with number MU5735 of China Eastern Airlines from Kunming to Guangzhou made a sudden descent before disappearing in the mountainous area of Guangxi. The flight data stopped updating from 2:22 p.m. on March 21 local time, when the plane had a cruising speed of about 696 km/h.
Reuters quoted FlightRadar24 data showing that, more than an hour after takeoff, the plane suddenly plunged from an altitude of nearly 9,000 meters. Only about 2 minutes and 15 seconds later, it had dropped to more than 2,700 meters. Over the next 20 seconds, the final altitude recorded was nearly 1,000 m.
According to flight data, there is no information that the plane's pilot made contact with the ground before the crash. The cause of the plane crash can only be determined after analyzing the black box data.
However, Wang Yanan, editor-in-chief of an aviation newspaper in Beijing, said the plane may have lost power while in flight coordinates, causing the pilot to lose control of the plane. This is a serious technical problem, if it happens, the plane will definitely fall down at high speed.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said he was "shocked" when he learned of the crash of a plane carrying 132 people in Guangxi.
"We were shocked to learn of the crash of China Eastern plane MU5735," Xi said, calling for "all efforts" to be focused on rescue operations and finding the cause of the crash. "as soon as possible".
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