CHINA: Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered all-out search and rescue efforts after a passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Monday afternoon.
Xi, also General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, said in his instruction that he was shocked to learn about the incident involving China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735.
He ordered the immediate launch of an emergency response, all-out search and rescue efforts and the proper settlement of the aftermath.
Xi ordered swift action to be taken to identify the cause of the crash and to strengthen the safety overhaul of the civil aviation sector to ensure the absolute safety of the sector and people’s lives.
Work teams have been dispatched to the scene by relevant departments. Rescue forces from Guangxi and neighbouring Guangdong Province have been mobilized.
Meanwhile, the China Eastern Airlines plane with 132 people on board that crashed in mountains in southern China on Monday reported a sudden loss of cruising altitude – nearly 26,000 feet under 3 minutes, according to online flight tracker FlightRadar24.
The plane, which Flightradar24 said was six years old, had been cruising at an altitude of 29,100 feet and just over two minutes and 15 seconds later, data showed it had descended to 9,075 feet. In another 20 seconds, its last tracked altitude was 3,225 feet.
China Eastern said the cause of the crash, in which the plane descended at a final rate of 31,000 feet a minute according to FlightRadar24, was under investigation.
Broadcaster CCTV said the crash “caused a mountain fire” which was later extinguished.
Hundreds of firefighters were dispatched to the scene in Teng county near the city of Wuzhou, state media reported, as nearby villagers rushed to help the rescue effort. – XINHUA, NDTV