A passenger plane carrying 132 people on board has crashed into a mountainous area in Wuzhou in southern China on Monday, March 21. The 737-89P (NOT a 737 MAX) flown by China Eastern Airlines (MU5735) came down in Guangxi, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). 

The passenger jet was heading to Guangzhou from Kunming when the accident occurred near the city of Wuzhou in Teng county. The number of casualties was not immediately known and rescue services were on their way to the scene. According to state media, the crash caused a wildfire. The People's Daily quoted a provincial firefighter as saying there were no signs of life among the scattered debris. There is yet no word on the cause of the crash.

As per FlightRadar24 data, the flight departed the southwestern city of Kunming at 1:11 pm (5:11am GMT). But, the flight-tracking ended at 2:22 pm (6:22am GMT) at an altitude of 3,225 feet with a speed of 376 knots. The plane had been due to land in Guangzhou, on the east coast at 3:05 pm (7:05am GMT). 

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The CAAC said the aircraft lost contact over the city of Wuzhou. It had 123 passengers and nine crew on board. State media said earlier there were 133 people on board. The CAAC said in a statement: "The CAAC has activated the emergency mechanism and sent a working group to the scene." The Aviation Safety Network tweeted: "We are following multiple unconfirmed reports about a possible accident involving China Eastern Airlines flight #MU5735 a Boeing 737-89P (B-1791) en route from Kunming to Guanghzou, China." 

Shanghai-based China Eastern is one of China's top three airlines, operating scores of domestic and international routes serving 248 destinations.The aircraft was delivered to China Eastern from Boeing in June 2015 and had been flying for over six years. The twin-engine, single aisle Boeing 737 is one of the world's most popular planes for short and medium-haul flights. China's aviation regulator cleared the plane to return to service late last year, making the country the last major market to do so. 

Meanwhile, distressing images and videos show large pieces of the plane scattered on the ground while a blaze can be seen in the background. Commenting on the crash, one social media user wrote, "Extremely saddened by the news of the crash of China Eastern Airlines airplane carrying 133 passengers and crew on board. May almighty impart strength to bereaved families. My thoughts and prayers are with them." Another added, "I thought Boeing 737 were grounded sometime back after the ethiopian crash. Why was this one still operating ????."

A third wrote, "Alright starting from china eastern airlines. The airline has had a fairly decent amount of crashes (6) with Flight 5735 being its first and mahor crash in 18 years." A fourth commented, "After seeing the crash site video of the China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 plane carrying 133 people on board that crashed, I silently asked myself 'can anyone survive this!'. This is a tragedy." A fifth wrote, "Can’t confirm if this is indeed a video of the China Eastern Airlines plane crash but holy f**k!!! Look at that dive!." A sixth added, "Crash confirmed...China Eastern Airlines official website adjusted to black and white." A seventh wrote, "Took a china eastern airlines flight from hong kong to shanghai, then another from shanghai to san francisco back in 2018, by far the shadiest airline i ever dealt with...this crash doesn't surprise me sadly."

According to Aviation Safety Network, China's last fatal jet accident was in 2010, when 44 of 96 people were killed when an Embraer E-190 regional jet flown by Henan Airlines crashed on approach to Yichun airport in low visibility.