Chinese officials are fearing the worst following a devastating plane crash in the southern portion of the country.
A Boeing 737, Flight MU5735 operated by China Eastern Airlines, was traveling from Kunming to Guangzhou. There were 132 people on board the flight, which lost contact with China's Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) over the city of Wuzhou around 2:15 p.m.
According to the CAAC, the plane crashed just 15 minutes later. Of the 123 passengers and nine crew members on board, they believe there are no survivors.
China Eastern Airlines released a statement mourning the loss of passengers and crew members but did not give any specific numbers of either, according to Reuters. There have been no official statements on the number of casualties, though footage of the crash has led many to believe survivors are unlikely.
Chinese media shared brief footage of the crash site, captured by a local driver's dashboard camera. The footage shows the plane descending quickly at about a 35-degree angle from the ground, though the footage has not been verified by news agencies at this time.
There are several videos online of the aftermath, a mountain fire that could be seen from quite a distance. According to flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, the last data transmission from the flight showed it descending at a vertical speed of -31,000 feet per minute.
The crash "activated the emergency mechanism," which alerted crews that help was needed at the scene. The New York Times reports that nearly 1,000 firefighters and 100 other emergency personnel were dispatched to the "heavily wooded" area and were able to extinguish the fire that resulted.
Investigators are trying to determine what led to the 6-year-old plane crashing. The airline has set up a hotline for family members of passengers to contact. They were able to confirm all passengers were Chinese citizens.
Officials have already noted that this crash would have occurred during the cruise phase of the flight, which is rare. Data from Boeing released in 2021 indicated only 13% of fatal commercial accidents globally between 2011 and 2020 occurred during the cruise phase. In comparison, 28% occurred on final approach and 26% on landing.
"Usually the plane is on auto-pilot during cruise stage. So it is very hard to fathom what happened," Chinese aviation expert Li Xiaojin told Reuters.
Chinese President Xi Jinping was reportedly "shocked" by news of the crash. He has ordered a full investigation of the circumstances around the crash.
