China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735: debris and belongings recovered but search for survivors continues
- Shards of wreckage from the wings and fuselage of the Boeing 737-800 recovered from valley, cause of tragedy not known
- Relatives of passengers continue to gather in Wuzhou as police cordon off mountainous area containing crash zone
Shards of wreckage from the wings and fuselage of the Boeing 737-800 have been recovered, together with several identity cards, wallets and banknotes in a valley surrounded by bamboo and trees with traces of scorching, according to footage from state broadcaster CCTV.
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Boeing 737 plane crashes in China’s southern Guangxi with 132 people on board
There was no sign of fatalities in the footage. More than 24 hours after the crash, there has been no official confirmation of casualties.
Police marked dozens of pieces of wreckage and cordoned off the mountainous area near the city of Wuzhou in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
Only state media have been allowed to report from the scene. The live coverage by Xinhua and CCTV has attracted tens of millions of viewers on their platforms, with many in the audience commenting on Weibo they were praying for a miracle.
Experts study video and flight data seeking clues into China Eastern crash
The aircraft carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members disappeared en route to Guangzhou after taking off from Kunming, in Yunnan province in southwestern China, at 1.10pm on Monday.
It had been flying at almost 8,900 metres (29,200 feet) before slowing and losing height at 2.19pm. Three minutes later, when its altitude was recorded at about 1,300 metres, it disappeared from the radar, according to Chinese civil aviation data provider VariFlight.
Relatives of passengers on the plane continued to gather in Wuzhou on Tuesday afternoon. On board were a 28-year-old man travelling to reunite with his family, a 36-year-old woman going to meet her fiancé and a 10-year-old boy on his way to a funeral, according to media reports.
Guangzhou-based Dinglong Culture confirmed on Tuesday that its chief finance officer Fang Fang was aboard. The 30-year-old executive was on a business trip. The airline confirmed there were no foreign passengers on the flight.
Air tragedy in China after a decade of aviation safety
Thousands of firefighters and police were still searching the area on Tuesday afternoon and more than 200 medical workers in Wuzhou were ready to offer first aid and treatment to any survivors of flight MU5735, Xinhua reported.
