A Chinese passenger plane has crashed with 132 people aboard, the Civil Aviation Administration of China has confirmed. It is feared there are no survivors.
The Chinese Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 was flying from Kumming to Guangzhou, when it came down crashing in Guangxi Mountains, Guangxi Province and caught fire. Reports abound that there may be no survivors in the crash of the 7-year-old plane.
Rescue crews have been deployed to the crash site and reports say a fire caused in the woods by the crash has been put out. Of the 132 people, 123 were passengers while 9 were part of the plane crew. Flight data indicates that the plane was flying steadily until it lost altitude at 2.20 pm.
Over the years, China has had a good flying track record, with no major accident being reported for over a decade, a fact that has been attributed to a young fleet of planes and more stringent air controls. Prior to that, the country had gained notoriety of deadly accidents in the 90s.
Residents at the crash location say hopes of finding any survivors have been dampened by debris the plane appears to have shattered into.
