First change: 03/22/2022 12:40 p.m
The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737800 plane leaving Kunming and flying to Guangzhou crashed at 2:38 p.m. in a mountainous area in Tengxian, southern Guangxi Province, causing a fire in the mountain. The aircraft carried 123 passengers and 9 crew members
Although the cause of the accident is under investigation, the media shows images captured by cameras from a mine near the site of the accident. In them, the plane appears falling vertically from the sky for 5 seconds, without a trace of smoke.
This dizzying descent was also recorded on the Flightrack website, where the plane climbed from more than 8,800 meters to 1,335 meters in just 2 minutes.
Flight MU5735 carried 123 passengers and 9 crew members. One of the passengers who originally intended to travel on this flight was left on the ground. China Eastern said there were no foreign passengers on the accident flight.
Chinese military are searching for remains of the Boeing 737800 that crashed near Wuzhou in the Guangxi Autonomous Region on March 21, 2022. © China Daily, via Reuters
The Guangzhou Airport, where this flight was supposed to land, has set up a care area for the relatives of the wrecked ship’s passengers, where the most touching scenes of the day are recorded. The media reports that three children were traveling on the flight.
Rescue teams, which include more than 1,300 firefighters, military and volunteers at the scene, found the remains of the plane, but are now scrambling to find the remains of the victims and the plane’s black box to help in responding to this air disaster help .
A China Eastern Airlines aircraft. © AFP
China Eastern is one of China’s top three airlines, and the airline had not recorded a fatal accident in 18 years. The company canceled the distance traveled by the accident flight this week.
The social networks have reacted with a large avalanche of messages of solidarity and also with doubts about the right professionalization of Chinese pilots.
Of course, this horrific accident casts a shadow over the 12 years of safe flying that China’s aviation industry has prided itself on.