Boeing 737 Jet Carrying 132 People Crashes In China

TOPLINE

Rescue efforts are underway after a China Eastern Airlines plane carrying 132 people crashed in Guangxi province, Chinese state media and local aviation officials said, causing a fire on the mountainside.

KEY FACTS

The number of casualties and the precise cause of the crash is not known, according to state-owned media outlet CGTV.

The Boeing 737 jet was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Rescue crews and a team of CAAC officials have been dispatched to the scene.

The flight—which appears to be China Eastern Flight MU5735—was traveling from Kunming to Guangzhou.

Data from flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 shows the plane losing speed and altitude before it stopped transmitting data near the city of Wuzhou.

By Robert Hart, Forbes Africa