No survivor found in China Eastern plane crash
A wreckage of the aircraft was found near the crash site in Guangxi.
No survivors have been found from the China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 that crashed in the mountains in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, an official with the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on Tuesday night.
The aircraft was severely damaged, making investigations difficult, Zhu Tao, director of the safety office of CAAC, told a press briefing.
"Since the investigation has just begun, the cause of the accident is still unclear with the information we have so far," Zhu said.
The investigation team will keep searching for evidence, especially the flight recorders, to analyze the cause of the accident, which will be publicized immediately, he added.
Additional investigations are also being conducted on the flying, aircraft maintenance, air traffic control, weather, and aircraft design, he added.
CAAC and China Eastern officials address the media in Wuzhou in Guangxi Autonomous Region on Tuesday night.
The crashed flight had 123 passengers on board. There were no foreigners. The crew included three pilots, five flight attendants, and one security guard, Zhu said.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, took off from Kunming in southwest Yunnan Province at 1:16pm on Monday and entered the jurisdiction of the air traffic controller of Guangzhou, south Guangdong Province, at 2:17pm with a cruise altitude of 8,900 meters, according to Zhu.
The controller found the aircraft dropping altitude dramatically at 2:20pm and tried to reach the crew several times, but did not get any response.
The plane disappeared from the radar at 2:23pm. It was later confirmed that it had crashed in the Tengxian County of Wuzhou City in Guangxi, Zhu said.
The aircraft was delivered to China Eastern's Yunnan branch on June 22, 2015. It had operated 8,986 flights totaling 18,239 flying hours.
Sun Shiying, the president of China Eastern's Yunnan branch, said the aircraft met all the airworthiness requirements before taking off. The crew members were also healthy and experienced.
The company has contacted the family members of all the 123 passengers, Sun said.
A safety inspection has also been launched, Sun added.
The CAAC has also launched a two-week-long overhaul among all the domestic carriers to eliminate safety risks.
