Plane crash in China with 132 people on board: No survivors found so far

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Wreckage of the crashed plane: Deep pit at the crash site

Photo: Uncredited / dpa

All 132 people on board are believed to have died when a passenger plane crashed in southern China.

As the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday around 18 hours after the crash, the wreckage of the Boeing machine was found, but so far no survivors.

Several hundred firefighters and rescue workers were deployed.

The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 suddenly fell more than 8,800 meters on Monday, according to the aviation authorities.

A video showed the plane falling headfirst.

The crash triggered a forest fire that could even be seen on satellite images from the US space agency Nasa.

The two flight recorders are also looking for assistants

The machine left a deep pit at the crash site, according to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

In addition to possible survivors, attempts are now also being made to find the two flight recorders – the so-called black boxes.

One of the two records all the relevant technical data of the flight, the other the conversations in the cockpit.

On board were 123 passengers and nine crew members.

The accident happened in a remote, hilly area near the city of Wuzhou in southern China's Guangxi region.

The aircraft, flight number MU5735, was en route from Kunming in Yunnan province to Guangzhou in Guangdong province.

The US aircraft manufacturer Boeing announced its support.

"Our thoughts are with the passengers and crew of China Eastern Airlines Flight MU 5735," the company said.

Technical experts stand by to help investigate the cause of the accident, led by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

has/dpa/AP