Plane carrying 133 people crashes in China

Video: The scene of the plane crash in Guangxi province, China on March 21. (Source: Sina)

According to CCTV, a Boeing 737 operated by China Eastern Airlines carrying 133 people crashed in the countryside near Wuzhou city, Guangxi region, southwestern China on March 21, “causing a fire”. The number of casualties is unknown.

According to an update by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the plane of China Eastern Airlines carried 132 people. The Boeing-737 was en route from the southwestern city of Kunming to Guangzhou when it lost contact in Wuzhou city. There were 123 passengers and 9 crew members on board.

Local media earlier reported that China Eastern flight MU5735 did not land as scheduled in Guangzhou.

CCTV added that the rescue work is currently underway. According to CNN, some previous social media posts said flight number MU5735 of China Eastern Airlines en route from Kunming to Guangzhou on March 21 was missing.

According to Flightradar 24 data, China Eastern’s flight from Kunming to Guangzhou departed at 13:11 (local time), scheduled to land at 15:05.

Flight tracking data ended at 14:22, when the aircraft was at an altitude of about 982 m and had a speed of about 696 km/h.

According to Reuters, Chinese airlines have had one of the best safety records in the world over the past decade.

According to the Aviation Safety Network, the last fatal plane crash to occur in China was in 2010, when 44 of 96 people were killed on an Embraer E-190 of Henan Airlines, crash in low visibility conditions.

The twin-engine, single-aisle Boeing 737 is one of the world’s most popular aircraft for short and medium-haul flights. The 737 Max version has been discontinued worldwide following two fatal crashes. China is the last major market to allow the aircraft to return to service, by the end of 2021. China Eastern operates multiple versions of the aircraft, including the 737-800 and 737 Max.

(Continue to update)