Chinese airliner carrying 132 people crashes

A Boeing 737-800 airliner operated by China Eastern Airlines crashed in southern China on Monday, with reports indicating that none of the 132 people on board survived.

China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 was travelling from Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan province, to Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong, Reuters reported. While flying at a cruising altitude, the plane appeared to descend very suddenly. The cause of the crash has yet to be determined.

Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 reported on Twitter that the flight began dropping by 31,000 feet per minute early on Monday morning.

Local Chinese media reported that the plane had disintegrated and caused a fire destroying bamboo trees in the area.

“China Eastern Airlines has activated the emergency mechanism, dispatched a working group to the scene, and opened a special line for emergency assistance to family members,” the airline said on social media.

The websites for China Eastern Airlines was changed to black and white in response to the crash.

According to CNN, the state-run China Central Television network said, “After the accident, President Xi Jinping immediately made instructions to start the emergency mechanism, organize search and rescue, and properly deal with the aftermath.”

As Reuters noted, the Boeing 737-800 has a good safety profile. It is the predecessor to the Boeing 737 MAX, a model that was grounded in numerous countries after multiple deadly crashes.

“We are aware of the initial media reports and are working to gather more information,” Boeing said in a statement to the news service.

China’s airline industry has one of the best safety records of the past decade, Reuters noted, though it is not as transparent as countries where regulators release detailed reports on incidents.