China Plane Crashes With 132 On Board; No Sign Of Survivors

Debris and wreckage at plane crash site (Twitter / @ChinaAvReview)/HINDUSTAN TIMES

A China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 with 132 people on board has crashed in a forested hillside in southern China.

The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 was flying from Kunming to Guangzhou when it came down in Guangxi province and caught fire.

The media cited a rescue official as saying the plane had disintegrated and caused a fire destroying bamboo trees. The People's Daily quoted a provincial firefighting department official as saying there was no sign of life among the scattered debris. It is feared there are no survivors, but the number of casualties and reason for the crash is not yet known.

The aircraft, with 123 passengers and nine crew on board, lost contact over the city of Wuzhou, China's Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and the airline said.

The Chinese government has rushed search-and-rescue teams to the crash site, and President Xi Jinping has ordered an inquiry into the crash.

Chinese airlines generally have a good safety record: the last major accident took place 12 years ago.