Plane with 132 people on board crashes in China | World

The fall took place in the mountainous Guangxi region in southern China, and caused a fire to erupt in the mountains, according to Chinese state TV. The China Civil Aviation Agency confirmed the incident and said the flight was on the route between the cities of Kunming and Guangzhou. The plane, a Boeing 737-800, has a good flight safety record. Boeing said it was gathering more information from local authorities to launch an investigation into the case.

Chinese state television reported that a rescue operation was on its way to the site. The broadcaster had initially announced that the plane was carrying 133 people, but later corrected it to 132 people. Of this total, nine are cabin crew. The accident happened around 2:30 p.m. local time.

China Eastern Airlines has put its website in black and white, as it often does when there are accidents involving its planes.

The plane, a Boeing 737-800, was six years old, according to the website Flightradar, which tracks flights around the world. The website also stated that the plane lost contact with the towers while flying over the southern city of Wuzhou. At the time, the flight was at an altitude of 29,100 feet. After just 15 seconds, the altitude recorded by Flight Radar had dropped to 9,075 feet, and after 20 seconds to 3,225 feet.

China’s civil aviation is considered one of the safest in the world, and the country’s last accident occurred in 2010, when 44 people died in the crash of a Henan Airlines Embraer E-190, as the flight approached Yichun Airport.

Boeing shares fell 8 percent on Monday (21st) after the news.

* With international agencies.