- Xi, other leaders hold moment of silence for air crash victims (Read more)

- DNA matching completed for all air crash victims: Official (Read more)

- Two black boxes were sent to Beijing for decoding and analysis

- A total of 36,001 pieces of plane wreckage and parts have been recovered

- Search work at the site of the plane crash is continuing

Rescue and search

- A total of 15,640 people had been sent to search the core site and surrounding areas, covering around 370,000 square meters

- Five drone search groups have also been added to aid the search, covering an area of around 9.55 million square meters.

- Rescuers have so far found no survivors (Read more)

- The main impact point where the jet crashed was identified (Read more)

- Plane's main parts were recovered in the core area (Read more)

Black box

- Data unit on second flight recorder in good shape, officials say (Read more)

- The second black box of crashed flight MU5735 has been recovered (Read more)

- Downloading and decoding the data of the first black box would take time - official (Read more)

- Black box data downloading and analysis work underway: official (Read more)

- Recovered black box initially believed as cockpit voice recorder (Read more)

- One of the two black boxes has been recovered (Read more)

Key to accident

- No explosive component detected at China plane crash site (Read more)

- Weather normal during time of plane crash: Official (Read more)

- Pilots of crashed plane were healthy, experienced: China Eastern Airlines (Read more)

- The crashed plane has no history of repair to the "pickle fork", a part that attaches the plane's fuselage, or body, to the wing structure (Read more)

- The plane met maintenance requirements and airworthiness standards (Read more)

- When the plane was found to have drastically plunged at 2:20 pm on Monday, air traffic controllers made repeated calls to the crew, but received no response

Victims

- All 132 victims of China's plane crash identified (Read more)

- All 132 people on board China's crashed plane dead; people paid silent tribute for the victims at the press conference (Read more)

- Identity of 120 people onboard the crashed plane confirmed (Read more)

- Rescuers found 101 pieces of things belonging to victims (Read more)

- Searchers find debris, crew items, some remains in center of crash site (Read more)

- Some victims' remains were found (Read more)

Authorities

- Leaders hold moment of silence for air crash victims (Read more)

- President urges all-out search and rescue efforts (Read more)

- China holds event to mourn plane crash victims on Sunday afternoon (Read more)

- Vice-Premier Liu He and State Councilor Wang Yong arrived in Wuzhou to guide rescue work, the settlement of the aftermath and investigation into the cause of the crash

- China to investigate any potential safety hazards in the civil aviation industry (Read more)

- The civil aviation industry has begun a two-week safety inspection (Read more)

- Ministry vows to curb safety hazards after plane crash (Read more)

Companies

- Compensation process launched for families of crash victims (Read more)

- Counseling provided to families of flight accident victims (Read more)

- Assistance prepared for investigation (Read more)

- China Eastern Airlines has grounded all of its Boeing 737-800 planes

- Boeing China said it is cooperating with China Eastern Airlines and will provide support

- China Eastern Airlines had established contact with relatives of all the passengers within 24 hours

- A total of 305 family members of 56 passengers have been accommodated in Wuzhou, Guangxi (Read more)

- China's major airlines have 1,400 Boeing 737-800NG planes, accounting for about 37% of total passenger planes

Information of MU5735

- A passenger plane with 132 aboard crashed in S China on Monday afternoon

- The flight was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members, all Chinese nationals

- The 6.8-year-old Boeing 737-800NG was traveling from Kunming to Guangzhou

- The crash caused a mountain wildfire and no survivors have been found so far (Read more)

- The crash ended China's civil aviation safety record of more than 4,000 days (Read more)

Moment of silence observed at meeting; DNA matching has been completed

President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders observed a moment of silence on Monday to mourn the victims of the China Eastern Airlines plane crash.

The moment of silence, proposed by Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, was observed at the start of a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in Beijing.

Flight MU5735, with 132 people on board, crashed into a mountainous area in Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on March 21. All people aboard were confirmed dead on Saturday.

After the crash, Xi immediately ordered the launch of an emergency response, all-out search and rescue efforts, and proper handling of the aftermath.

Rescuers and investigators announced on Monday that DNA matching for all 132 victims had been completed. Remains and belongings of the victims have been sent to the local funeral home, properly stored and classified, and will later be transferred.

After the crash, the Ministry of Public Security quickly drew up a work plan to identify the victims and established a special platform for DNA comparison, according to Liu Kaihui, an official with the Institute of Forensic Science of China of the ministry.

Public security officers in more than 20 provincial-level regions were involved in collecting the DNA samples of the victims and their family members, he said at a news conference in Wuzhou on Monday.

"Our institute also dispatched a team of 30 experts to the crash site, carrying out on-site investigations together with more than 200 forensic science workers in Guangxi," Liu said. In addition to DNA matching techniques, fingerprint experts have also compared the fingerprints taken at the scene to confirm the victims' identities.

Zhu Tao, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China's aviation safety office, said that as of Monday noon, the search and rescue team had canvassed an area of about 370,000 square meters in the core and neighboring areas of the crash site, and had collected 36,001 pieces of aircraft debris and other fragments.

Five drone teams were deployed to carry out search missions by taking photos on the margin of the core areas, searching an area of nearly 9.55 million square meters, he said.

Zheng Xi, head of the Guangxi Fire and Rescue Brigade, said the search and rescue team is now prioritizing the search for victims' belongings and aircraft debris, as both black boxes have been found.

As decoding and analysis work for the two black boxes is ongoing, other avenues for investigation are also progressing, Zhu said, adding that the investigation team is collecting evidence such as aircraft debris, accident-related video clips and witnesses's accounts.

To fully discover the truth, "it is insufficient to rely only on data from the black boxes in an air crash investigation", he said.

Shu Ping, director of the China Academy of Civil Aviation Science and Technology's Aviation Safety Institute, said the investigation of an airplane crash also involves information collected at the crash site and experimental verification. "Many objects at the crash site could be used to analyze the situation, such as the condition of the engine system," he told CAAC News.

Cao Yin contributed to this story.

Assistance with issues such as accommodation, traffic, pandemic control and psychological counseling have been provided for all 110 families of passengers on China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 after the plane crashed on Monday, Shangguan Xuemin, a manager from the airline, has said.

Shangguan, manager of the airlines' client committee, told a news conference on Wednesday that family members of all 123 passengers have been contacted, adding that the relatives are receiving support of various kinds from more than 300 staff.

The jet carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members left Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, at 1:11 pm on Monday, bound for Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province. Air traffic controllers lost track of the plane over Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Shangguan said offering assistance was an extremely important job, adding that the company has established centers to offer help for relatives in Kunming, Guangzhou and those who arrived at Wuzhou.

"As of Wednesday afternoon, we've provided accommodation and traffic services in Wuzhou and Kunming for nearly 300 family members of 71 passengers," he said.

The temperature began decreasing in Wuzhou on Wednesday afternoon, "so we've prepared warm clothes for those relatives," he said.

The authorities in places where the passengers came from have also helped provided support for relatives, he added.

Aircraft wreckage and human remains from a recently crashed passenger jet were found by a rescue team according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Wednesday.

As of 7 pm on Wednesday, the rescue team has canvased an area of 46,000 square meters. What has been found has been passed to the investigation team, said Zheng Xi, head of the fire and rescue department of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, at a news conference on Wednesday night.

One of two "black box" flight recorders was found on Wednesday afternoon and was later identified as the Cockpit Voice Recorder, said Zhu Tao, head of aviation safety for CAAC. The China Eastern Airlines passenger jet carrying 132 people crashed into a mountain in Guangxi on Monday, and no survivors have yet been found.

He said the device has been sent to Beijing for further analysis.

"According to preliminary investigations on site, the exterior of the flight recorder was seriously damaged and the storage units also had a certain degree of damage. But the device remained comparatively intact," he added.

"It takes time to decode the flight recorder. If the storage units were damaged, it may take longer. After decoding the device, it will provide strong evidence as to the cause of the accident," Zhu said.

The jet had two flight recorders, both products of United States company Honeywell. One device records flight data, such as height, speed and direction, and the other records voices in the cockpit.

The team is making every effort to search for the other flight recorder, Zhu added.

According to Zheng, head of the fire and rescue team, natural impediments, including intermittent rain, steep hills and heavy forest growth around the area, has posed challenges to rescue work.

A team of firefighters has entered the core search area to drain a pond that was formed by last night's strong rainfall.

NANNING - The exterior of the black box from the crashed China Eastern Airlines passenger plane recovered on Wednesday was severely damaged, and it was initially believed as the cockpit voice recorder, Zhu Tao, head of the aviation safety office of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), told a press briefing Wednesday night.

NANNING - Some human remains and parts of the wreckage of the China Eastern Airlines passenger plane that crashed into a mountain in Guangxi on Monday have been recovered at the crash site, an official told a press briefing on Wednesday.

The wreckage and human remains have been handed over to the investigation team, said Zheng Xi, head of the fire brigade of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, adding that rescuers from the brigade had covered a search area of 46,000 square meters by 7 pm Wednesday.

The three pilots onboard the recently crashed China Eastern Airlines passenger jet were in good health and qualified for the flight, Sun Shiying, chairman of the airline's Yunnan branch, said on Wednesday.

He said a news conference the flight licenses and health certificates of the three pilots were all within the validity period when they flew China Eastern MU5735 carrying 123 passengers from Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, to Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Monday.

"The captain of the flight became captain for the Boeing 737 in January 2018. He has a total flight experience of 6,709 hours," Sun said, adding the flying hours of the first co-pilot was 31,769 and the second co-pilot had 556.

The performance records of the three pilots were good and their home lives showed no abnormalities, he said.

On Monday afternoon, the aircraft crashed in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members.

According to Sun, the crashed jet began operations on June 22, 2015, with a history of strict implementation of aircraft maintenance and stable technical condition.

"Before takeoff, the plane met maintenance requirements and airworthiness standards, so it got a normal clearance," he added.

The weather was normal and there were no hazardous weather conditions when the plane crashed, an official said at a news briefing Wednesday.

One of two "black box" flight recorders for the recently crashed China Eastern Airlines passenger jet was found on Wednesday, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

The jet had two flight recorders, both products of United States company Honeywell. One device records flight data, such as height, speed and direction, and the other records voices in the cockpit, Mao Yanfeng, director of the civil aviation accident investigation center, said at a news conference on Wednesday. Both recorders are orange and easy to discover.

However, the investigation team was unable to identify which recorder was found at this stage because its exterior was seriously damaged.

"The accident was rarely seen because the jet plunged at a cruising phase in a short time," Mao said, adding the investigation team is making every effort to find the other recorder. "Once both recorders are found and sent to the lab for analysis, we will be able to know more about the cause of the accident."

According to data from global flight tracking service flightradar24, the plane, a Boeing 737-800, reached a cruising altitude of nearly 9,000 meters shortly after departing from Kunming, Yunnan province at 1:11 pm on Monday. It plunged nearly 8,000 meters in 3 minutes at 2:19 pm and crashed into a mountain in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

No survivors have yet been found.

Heavy rain on Wednesday has forced the suspension of the large-scale search and rescue operations in a remote mountainous area in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region for the survivors and black boxes of a China Eastern Airlines plane that crashed on Monday.

Flight MU5735 left Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, at 1:11 pm on Monday with 132 people on board, and was scheduled to arrive in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, at 3:05 pm. Air traffic controllers lost track of the plane over Wuzhou, Guangxi, at 2:21 pm.

Heavy rain started to hit the crash site near Tengxian county's Molang village early on Wednesday morning. According to preliminary analysis, the site covers an area of 20,000 square meters, which is about the size of three soccer fields.

As the site is surrounded by mountains on three sides, rescue workers have had difficulty carrying out their work. No survivors have been found as of 3 pm on Wednesday.

At 9:21 am, the meteorological department of Tengxian issued a warning for rainstorms, which are expected to last through at least Wednesday afternoon.

The soil at the crash site has absorbed a lot of water, which has raised the risk of landslides, so large-scale search and rescue operations have been suspended. In addition, the teams have to drain the water first before resuming their efforts, search and rescue authorities said on Wednesday.

NANNING -- 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.

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.

Chinese insurers are stepping up efforts to offer quick support following the crash on Monday of a China Eastern Airlines plane with 132 people aboard. They have begun verifying information on insured passengers and preparing compensation payments.

The nearly 7-year-old Boeing 737-800 jet, which was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members, was traveling from Kunming, Yunnan province, to Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Monday afternoon when it crashed in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The People's Insurance Co (Group) of China Ltd, one of China's leading insurers, is the chief underwriter of the plane that crashed.

The company said in a statement on Monday evening that it has started its emergency mechanism for major accident claims and established a special working group. Related employees of PICC have arrived in Guangxi to deal with the follow-up work.

Meanwhile, the subsidiary companies of Ping An Insurance Group Co also took steps related to the underwriting of the flight. The Guangdong branch of Ping An Property & Casualty Co Ltd jointly insures all risks and liabilities of the fuselage, and the company said it would follow up on the handling of the accident as well as the search and rescue progress.

As of 6:30 pm on Monday, Ping An Insurance said it had received four inquiries connected to the crash, and the company has been verifying information.

It also has launched a psychological counseling program for family members of the passengers on the flight.

"When major accidents with extremely small probabilities like an airplane crash occur, insurance companies usually speed up the process of claim settlements, as it is related to the reputation of insurers. Usually, the head offices of different insurers will handle the issues directly," said Wang Guojun, a professor at the School of Insurance and Economics of the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

China Pacific Insurance Co, another insurer of the flight, said it has started a related internal verification process about airframe insurance, group accident insurance, flight accident insurance and other types of insurance with institutions in Yunnan.

The Guangxi office of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission said emergency response teams at the regional and municipal levels have been established regarding the plane crash.

The office required the 44 insurance companies in the region to start the emergency mechanism and conduct comprehensive investigations, according to China Banking and Insurance News.

Rescuers are still working around the clock in the mountainous area of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region where a passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed, local officials said on Tuesday night.

A total of 538 rescue workers with 119 fire trucks from Guangxi rushed to the site of the crash immediately after the accident happened on Monday afternoon, with lighting equipment, tents and epidemic prevention materials.

Rescue staff from Guangdong province and forest fire control officers were also dispatched to the site to help, said Zheng Xi, head of the Guangxi regional fire and rescue corp.

"Rescuers quickly started searching at the site, but given that the area is located in a mountain forest with narrow roads and gullies, it's difficult to carry out the rescue work," he said at a news briefing on Tuesday night. "The search within 20 kilometers of the crash site has also begun."

China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 left Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, at 1:11pm, bound for Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province. Air traffic controllers lost track of the plane over Wuzhou, Guangxi. The plane was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members.

Zheng said when the first rescue force from Tengxian county of Wuzhou arrived at the accident site at 3:50pm on Monday, they found some wreckage and there was a strong smell of fuel. So far, no survivors have been found.

Sun Shiying, chairman of the airline's Yunnan branch, said on Tuesday night that the company has managed to contact family members of all passengers, in many locations around the country.

"We've established centers to offer aid for those relatives in Kunming, Guangzhou and Wuzhou. More than 160 experts are there for assistance," he said.

The Civil Aviation industry started a two-week safety inspection on Tuesday after a jet carrying 132 people crashed on Monday, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said.

The inspection aims to discover and eliminate safety hazards to ensure the sector's operational safety.

The inspection will be carried out in all areas, including regional civil aviation administration, airline companies, airports and pilot training organizations.

The administration will require parties to carry out self examination first. Random checks will be implemented by the administration to ensure the evaluation's effectiveness.

While continuing to look for survivors after a China Eastern Airlines flight crashed in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Monday, over 2,000 search and rescue workers on Tuesday have intensified efforts to recover the black box of the aircraft to investigate the cause of the tragedy.

Flight MU5735 left Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, at 1:11 pm and was scheduled to arrive in Guangzhou, Guangdong province at 3:05 pm. Air traffic controllers lost track of the plane over Wuzhou, Guangxi. The flight was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members.

Along with search and rescue workers, drones have been deployed at the crash site to search for more evidence over an area of nearly 680,000 square meters. Zhu Xiaodong, a rescuer with a drone rescue center in Guangzhou, said at the site it's difficult to carry out search work as there are only a few paths leading to the site. The drones' thermal imaging function will help locate the black box, which records flight data and cockpit conversation.

According to video footage released by CCTV around noon on Tuesday, as the search and rescue team continued to collect debris, they also found wallets, train tickets, identification cards and bank cards at the crash site in a forest near Tengxian county's Molang village.

A hand-written note about peace buckles — a traditional type of Chinese jewelry — discovered at the site has made many more upset about the tragedy as the buckles represent people's wishes for a peaceful and long life.

Experts from the public security department and the Civil Aviation Administration of China have entered the crash site to search for physical evidence, confirm the identity of the missing persons and find out the possible cause of the accident. No information about the passengers and crew members was available by Tuesday evening.

Much of the debris from the aircraft is in small pieces, said Li Chenbin, who heard a loud bang echoing across the mountains at around 2:20 pm on Monday.

"I heard a loud bang while working on the mobile communication network nearby," said Li, a technician with China Mobile's Guangxi branch. "I then rushed to the site with my colleagues and saw the aircraft debris, much of which was in small pieces. It was scattered all over the mountains. The biggest piece I saw was part of a wing with China Eastern's logo."

Without a stable electricity supply, search and rescue teams have been using emergency lights and head lights to work overnight, Li said. He stayed near the site to maintain the mobile communication network that is critical for search and rescue efforts.

As the crash site is surrounded by mountains on three sides with only a narrow road that leads to it, it's been difficult to carry out search and rescue work. Local villagers have been using motorbikes to carry supplies to the crash site.

On Monday night, Vice-Premier Liu He and State Councilor Wang Yong traveled to Wuzhou to guide the rescue efforts, the aftermath and the investigation into the cause of the crash.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his condolences to the victims and the Chinese government, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN chief. The International Civil Aviation Organization also said it is saddened by the tragic loss and expresses its deepest condolences to all affected.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

Chinese insurers are stepping up efforts to offer support to their covered victims of the air crash on Monday.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China confirmed yesterday a Boeing 737 passenger plane with 132 aboard crashed in China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The country's leading insurers, such as Ping An, People's Insurance Co of China Ltd,China Pacific Life Insurance Co Ltd and New China Life Insurance Co Ltd, all set up green channels and around-the-clock service for relevant claims.

Ping An Insurance, for instance, has received four claims about the accident as of Monday night, and the company has been verifying information. It has launched a psychological counseling program for family members of passengers on the flight.

PICC, which serves as chief underwriter of the crashed plane, said in a statement on Monday evening it has started its emergency response for major accident claims and established a special working group. Related employees of PICC have arrived in Guangxi to deal with the follow-up work.

CPIC, another insurer of the flight, said it has started an internal verification process about airframe insurance, group accident insurance, flight accident insurance and other types of insurance with Yunnan institutions.

Kaifusai Julaiti contributed to this story.

NANNING -- Rescue work continued on Tuesday after a passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region Monday afternoon.

Over 2,000 people have been sent to the site as part of the rescue efforts.

Since the site of the crash is located in a mountain forest, the search for the black box relies on both drones and rescue staff.

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, said at the site that it is difficult to carry out rescue work as there are only a few paths leading to the site.

Experts from the public security department and the Civil Aviation Administration of China 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.

Drones have been deployed on the site to search for more evidence in an area of nearly 680,000 square meters. Their thermal imaging function will help locate the black box.

At around 7:30 am on Tuesday, light rain began to fall over the rescue site. The local meteorological department forecast that more rain would hit the area from Tuesday to Thursday, which might adversely affect the search efforts.

On Tuesday afternoon, Xinhua reporters spotted around six excavators and nearly 50 workers scrambling to clear a passage to the site for rescue crew and necessary machinery.

"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.

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.

Some personal belongings of the passengers on a China Eastern Airlines flight that crashed in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Monday were discovered by a search and rescue team.

Flight MU5735 left Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, at 1:11 pm and was scheduled to arrive in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, at 3:05 pm. Air traffic controllers lost track of the plane over Wuzhou, Guangxi. The flight was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members.

According to video footage released by CCTV around noon on Tuesday, the search and rescue team found wallets, identification cards and bank cards at the crash site in a forest near Tengxian county's Molang village.

No information about the passengers and crew members was available by 1 pm.

Much of the debris from the aircraft is in small pieces, said Li Chenbin, who heard a loud bang caused by the crash echoing across the mountains covered by forest around 2:20 pm on Monday.

"I heard a loud bang while working on the mobile communication network nearby," said Li, a technician with China Mobile's Guangxi branch. "I then rushed to the site with my colleagues and saw the aircraft debris, much of which was in small pieces. It was scattered all over the mountains. The biggest piece I saw is part of a wing with China Eastern's logo."

Without a stable electricity supply, search and rescue teams have been using emergency lights and head lights to work overnight, said Li, who stayed near the site to maintain the mobile communication network that is critical for search and rescue efforts.

As the crash site is surrounded by mountains on three sides with only a narrow road that leads to it, it's been difficult to carry out the search and rescue work. Local villagers have been using motorbikes to carrying supplies, including tents, food and water, to the crash site.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China and the Ministry of Emergency Management have sent task forces to the site to help with the rescue efforts. In addition, Vice-Premier Liu He and State Councilor Wang Yong have instructed relevant officials to guide the rescue efforts, the aftermath and the investigation into the cause of the crash.

Boeing China said it is working with its airline customers and is ready to support them after a nearly 7-year-old Boeing B737-800 passenger jet of China Eastern Airlines, with 132 people on board, crashed in the mountains of southern China on Monday.

"Our thoughts are with the passengers and crew members of China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735. Boeing is in contact with the US National Transportation Safety Board, and our technical experts are prepared to assist with the investigation led by the Civil Aviation Administration of China," Boeing China said in a statement on Tuesday.

The flight was traveling from Kunming, Yunnan province, to Guangzhou, Guangdong province on Monday afternoon. The plane plunged nearly 8,000 meters in 3 minutes at 2:19 pm and crashed on the mountain, according to data from flightradar24, a global flight tracking service.

Boeing 737-800 passenger jet serves as one of the company's most widely used aircraft. China Eastern suspended all its Boeing 737-800 jets after the crash.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his condolences to the victims and the Chinese government, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN chief.

And the International Civil Aviation Organization also said it is saddened by the tragic loss and expresses its deepest condolences to all affected.

Vice-Premier Liu He and State Councilor Wang Yong have led relevant officials to guide rescue work, the settlement of the aftermath and investigation into the cause of the crash in Wuzhou.

Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun said in a letter on Monday that the planemaker has offered the full support of its technical experts to the investigation led by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

"We are deeply saddened by the news of the accident involving a China Eastern Airlines 737-800 airplane. The thoughts of all of us at Boeing are with the passengers and crew members on Flight MU 5735, as well as their families and loved ones," Calhoun added.

The crash of an airliner on Monday ended China's civil aviation safety record of more than 4,000 days.

A China Eastern Airlines aircraft carrying 132 people crashed in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Monday, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Search and rescue teams have been sent to the crash site.

China's safety record of civil aviation has remained among the best in the world over the past decade.

"As of the end of February, China's civil aviation record for safety stood for 138 months, handling 5.11 billion passenger trips safely," Wu Shijie, deputy director of the administration's safety office, told a monthly routine news conference last week.

According to data from flightradar24, a global flight tracking service, the plane reached a cruise altitude of nearly 9,000 meters shortly after departing from Kunming at 1:11 pm. It plunged nearly 8,000 meters in 3 minutes at 2:19 pm and crashed on the mountain.

The aircraft was a nearly 7-year-old Boeing 737-800 passenger jet, one of the company's most widely used aircraft.

China Eastern Airlines suspended all the Boeing 737-800 jets after the crash. The airline has changed its website color to black and white in mourning for the victims.

China Eastern Airlines Hong Kong shares plunged on Monday afternoon, dropping more than 8 percent to close down 6.46 percent. The company's US shares and Boeing shares also fell sharply.

According to the airline, as of February, it operates 752 jets of various types. Boeing China said they were aware of the crash news and were gathering more information, according to China Central Television.

The accident has triggered discussion about the safety of the Boeing 737 series, which includes various types of jets, such as the 737-600, 737-700 and 737 Max.

The Boeing 737 Max was grounded around the world after two fatal crashes that killed 346 people－an Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed six minutes into a flight from Addis Ababa in March 2019, less than five months after a Boeing 737 Max flown by Indonesia's Lion Air plunged into the Java Sea.

On March 11, 2019, China grounded its fleet of 97 Boeing 737 Max jets, the first country to do so.

An airworthiness directive on the Boeing 737 Max was issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in December after soliciting opinions from the industry. The jet has not yet resumed operations in China.

The civil aviation industry has also been hit hard globally by the COVID-19 pandemic, including in China, leading to salary reductions and staff layoffs.

According to a report released by the International Air Transport Association in October, the global civil aviation sector suffered an estimated net loss of $51.8 billion last year.

China's last fatal jet crash was on Aug 24, 2010. An Embraer E-190 regional jet of Henan Airlines crashed in Yichun, northeastern China's Heilongjiang province. Forty-four people were killed and 52 were injured.

Debris was found at the site where a China Eastern Airlines aircraft carrying 132 people crashed in Southern China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Monday afternoon, the regional emergency management department said.

Flight MU5735 left Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, at 1:11 pm and was scheduled to arrive in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province at 3:05 pm.

At 2:15 pm, air traffic controllers lost track of the plane in Wuzhou, Guangxi. The flight was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members.

The forest fire caused by the plane crash has been put out, the emergency management department of Wuzhou's Tengxian county said on Monday evening.

According to the Guangxi regional emergency management department, the crash site is near the county's Molang village. The fire rescue team that first arrived at the scene discovered debris, but no remains of the passengers have been found so far, the department said.

After the crash, the Wuzhou fire brigade immediately sent 117 firefighters with 23 fire trucks to the site. Another 538 firefighters from other parts of Guangxi had been dispatched to join in the rescue effort, the department said in a statement on Monday afternoon.

More than 640 firefighters from nearby Yunnan and Guangdong provinces were also dispatched to the crash site on Monday afternoon, local fire and rescue departments said.

BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered all-out search and rescue efforts after a passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region Monday afternoon.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said in his instruction that he was shocked to learn about the incident involving China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735.

He ordered the immediate launch of an emergency response, all-out search and rescue efforts and the proper settlement of the aftermath.

Xi ordered swift action to be taken to identify the cause of the crash and to strengthen the safety overhaul of the civil aviation sector to ensure the absolute safety of the sector and people's lives.

Premier Li Keqiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, urged efforts to console the families of the victims and provide them with assistance, release accurate information in a timely manner, conduct a serious probe into the incident, and take strong measures to strengthen the safety of civil aviation.

Work teams have been dispatched to the scene by relevant departments. Rescue forces from Guangxi and neighboring Guangdong province have been mobilized.

China Eastern Airlines has changed its website color to black and white in mourning for the victims.

Civil Aviation Administration of China confirmed on Monday that a Boeing 737 passenger plane with 132 aboard crashed in China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.