Beijing: 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,” Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said on Tuesday morning, more than 18 hours after the aircraft crashed into the mountains.
As of Tuesday morning, the search and rescue operations were still underway but all 123 passengers and nine crew members were feared dead.
On Monday afternoon, the plane crashed in the southern province of Guangxi, sparking a mountainside fire.
The China Eastern flight from Kunming to Guangzhou departed at 1.11 pm (0511 GMT), FlightRadar24 data showed. It was due to land at 3.05 pm (0705 GMT). The flight entered a steep and fast dive around 2.20 pm. The cause of the crash is yet unknown.
