China Eastern Airlines Boeing with 132 on board crashes in China
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China Eastern Airlines Boeing with 132 on board crashes in China

BEIJING – A China Eastern Airlines (600115.SS) passenger jet with 132 people on board crashed in the mountains of southern China on Monday while on a flight from the city of Kunming to Guangzhou, China’s Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said.

 

The jet involved in the accident was a Boeing 737 aircraft and the number of casualties was not immediately known, state broadcaster CCTV said. Rescue services were on their way to the scene, it said. There was no word on the cause of the crash.

 

The plane was a 6-year-old 737-800 aircraft, according to Flightradar24.

The 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.