This photo taken with a mobile phone shows pieces of a crashed passenger plane's wreckage found at the crash site in Tengxian county, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 22, 2022. (ZHOU HUA / XINHUA)
NANNING/BEIJING – Rescuers are making all-out efforts to retrieve the black boxes of a passenger plane with 132 people aboard that crashed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Monday afternoon, an official with the Civil Aviation Administration of China said Tuesday night.
The plane was severely damaged and the investigation is very difficult, Zhu Tao, head of CAAC aviation safety office, told a press briefing.
No survivors have been found so far, said Sun Shiying, chairman of China Eastern Airlines Yunnan branch
At present, the investigation team is carrying out a full probe in accordance with the procedures, with rescuers exploring the crash site and going all out to search the black boxes, Zhu said.
The team is also thoroughly investigating other aspects, including flight, maintenance, air traffic control, meteorology, aircraft design and manufacturing, Zhu said.
Based on known information, the authorities do not yet have a clear clue to the cause of the passenger plane crash, the official said.
No survivors have been found so far, Sun Shiying, chairman of China Eastern Airlines Yunnan branch, said at the same briefing.
The rescue work continued on Tuesday and over 2,000 people have been sent to the site as part of the rescue efforts, said a rescuer said earlier Tuesday.
A photo taken with a mobile phone shows rescuers conducting search and rescue work around the plane crash site in Tengxian county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, March 21, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
"The site of the crash in a mountain forest complicates the search for the black boxes and we have to rely mainly on drones and rescue staff," said Zhu Xiaodong, a rescuer with a drone rescue center in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province and also the destination of the plane.
Some personal belongings of the passengers have been collected and numbered.
Experts from the public security department and the CAAC are entering the main crash site to search for physical evidence, confirm the identity of the missing persons and find out the possible cause of the accident. Some personal belongings of the passengers have been collected and numbered.
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Drones have been deployed to search for more evidence in an area of nearly 680,000 square meters, according to Zhang Xueliang, a rescuer.
"The drones' thermal imaging function will help locate the black boxes," Zhang added. At around 7:30 am on Tuesday, light rain began to fall over the rescue site. The local meteorological department forecast that more rain and high winds would hit the area in the next 24 hours, which might adversely affect the search efforts.
This mobile phone photo shows staff members installing electrical equipment at the plane crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 22, 2022. (ZHOU HUA / XINHUA)
"We need to complete all preparations prior to the rain, and the initial objective is to gain entry to the site by approximately 8 pm Tuesday," said Guo Zhaoliang, in charge of the route construction.
Many residents nearby have volunteered to deliver tents, food and other relief supplies to the site by motorcycle.
After the crash, China's civil aviation regulator has called for screening hidden risks to boost civil aviation safety
The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Kunming and was bound for Guangzhou, crashed into a mountainous area in Tengxian County in Guangxi at 2:38 pm Monday, causing a mountain fire.
Risk investigation
The CAAC has called for screening hidden risks to boost civil aviation safety after Monday’s plane crash.
Concrete measures should be taken to strengthen the investigation of hidden dangers concerning aircraft maintenance, flight weather conditions, personnel qualifications and operational skills, said the regulator.
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It pledged efforts to promote a three-year campaign to improve work safety and strengthen the management of civil aviation safety with effective measures.
The CAAC urged air traffic controllers to strengthen timely weather forecasting, the notification of on-site weather changes and dangerous weather alerts.
Airlines should enhance crew collocation, report any abnormal situations in flight and offer their crew timely and necessary technical and decision-making support, it said.
Photo taken with a mobile phone shows temporary tents set for rescue efforts at the plane crash site in Tengxian county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, March 22, 2022. (ZHOU HUA / XINHUA)
Boeing cooperation
Boeing China said on Tuesday that it is cooperating with China Eastern Airlines and will provide support after a Boeing 737 passenger plane crashed Monday afternoon.
The company is keeping in contact with the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States, said Boeing China, adding that its technical experts are ready to aid the Civil Aviation Administration of China in conducting the investigation.
