Chinese Boeing crashes with 132 on board, no sign of survivors

KATHMANDU: A China Eastern Airlines (600115.SS) Boeing 737-800 with 132 people on board crashed in mountains in southern China on a domestic flight on Monday and media said there was no sign of survivors.

The plane was flying from the southwestern city of Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, to Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, bordering Hong Kong.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the crash.

“Can confirm the plane has crashed,” China Eastern Airlines said in a statement in which it also gave details of a hotline for relatives of those on board.

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A China Eastern passenger jet carrying 132 people has crashed in southwest China and caused a mountain fire with casualties unknown, state broadcaster CCTV reported Monday.
The Boeing 737 plane crashed in the rural countryside near Wuzhou city, Guangxi region and “caused a mountain fire”, CCTV said, citing the provincial emergency management bureau.

The report added that rescue teams were dispatched to the scene.

CCTV said a “China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 plane carrying 133 people has crashed in Teng county, Wuzhou, Guangxi, and caused a mountain fire.”

Local media reported that China Eastern flight MU5735 had not arrived at its scheduled destination in Guangzhou after it took off from the city of Kunming shortly after 1:00 pm (0500 GMT) Monday, citing airport staff.

There was no immediate response from China Eastern when contacted by AFP. AFP