Agencies
Beijing, March 22:
Nearly 18 hours later, no survivors have been found in the wreckage of the China Eastern plane that crashed Monday with 132 onboard, news agency AP reported, citing state broadcaster. This is one of the worst disasters the country has seen in nearly a decade.
“Wreckage of the plane was found at the scene, but up until now, none of those aboard the plane with whom contact was lost have been found,” state broadcaster CCTV has been quoted as reporting.
The Boeing 737-800 plane was reported to be flying – at around 29,000 feet – from Kunming in the southwestern province of Yunnan to the industrial center of Guangzhou when it entered a steep dive around 2:20 p.m. local time. The fire was said to be big enough to be seen in NASA satellite images.
Shortly after, an “all-out rescue operation” was called by Chinese president Xi Jinping, who said he was “shocked” by the incident. Ordering a probe, he also called for a swift action “to identify the cause of the crash and to strengthen the safety overhaul of the civil aviation sector,” a report by CCTV said.
Boeing 737-800 is said to be the safest unlike Boeing Max that was grounded globally after a series of crashes a couple of years ago. The aerospace firm has said “our technical experts are prepared to assist with the investigation led by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.”
In pictures shared by Xinhua, the official state press agency, temporary tents were seen around the site of the crash for rescue efforts.
U.S.-based aviation analyst Robert Mann of R.W. Mann & Company said investigators will need the flight data recorders to understand what might have caused the abrupt descent suggested by Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data.
