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Chinese authorities confirm crash of passenger plane with 132 people on board

A working group had been dispatched to the crash site

© Oriental Image via Reuters Connect, archive

BEIJING, March 21. /TASS/. The Civil Aviation Administration of China has confirmed the crash of a Boeing 737 aircraft operated by China Eastern Airlines in the country’s south.

According to the aviation authority’s statement, there were 123 passengers and nine crew members on board the plane.

China Central Television reported earlier that there had been 133 people on board the flight.

The Civil Aviation Administration announced the activation of an emergency response mechanism, adding that a working group had been dispatched to the crash site.

The China Eastern Flight en route from Kunming to Guangzhou crashed in a mountainous area in the Wuzhou district of the Guangxi Autonomous Region. The crash ignited a fire, rescue workers are on their way to the site.

The aircraft, less than seven years old, has been in operation by China Eastern Airlines since 2015.

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