China plane crash: Plumes of smoke seen billowing from wreckage that caused a mountain fire

NASA’s satellite data confirms massive fire at the plane crash site in China’s Guangxi

Preliminary visuals from the crash showed massive white clouds billowing from the plane wreckage that covered a large swathe of the mountains (Screengrab/Twitter/CGTN Official)

Preliminary visuals of thick white plumes of smoke coming from a site in China where a Boeing 737 plane carrying 132 passengers crashed on Monday has been shared by state media.

The aircraft crashed in a mountainous area in the country’s southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. There have been no immediate reports of casualties or injuries from the accident.

The crash of the aircraft that belonged to China’s Eastern Airlines caused a mountain fire, according to officials from the regional emergency department.

Work was underway to bring the mountainside fire under control, said the Guanxi fire service.

NASA’s satellite data confirmed the massive fire in the area.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has also sent a team of officials, it said.

“The CAAC has activated the emergency mechanism and sent a working group to the scene,” the aviation body said in a statement.

Preliminary visuals from the crash, shot by local villagers, showed the massive clouds billowing from the wreckage site that covered a large swathe of the mountainous area.

The plane had completely disintegrated, a rescue official said. Bamboo and trees at the site of the accident were burned completely by the fire from the crash.

Another video from the site showed debris from the plane scattered across the area.

The reason behind the jet’s collapse has not been made immediately clear.

Chinese president Xi Jinping said he was “shocked” on learning about the crash and has called for an investigation into the accident, reported China’s state media CCTV.

“We are shocked to learn of the China Eastern MU5735 accident,” Mr Xi said, adding that he has called for “all efforts” towards the rescue and to find out the “cause of the accident as soon as possible”.

The six-year-old 737aircraft was en route to Guangzhou from Kunming and had lost contact over the Wuzhou city, the CAAC officials said.

Flight tracking service FlightRadar24 showed the plane cruising at an altitude of 29,100 feet at 0620 GMT but in the next two minutes and 15 seconds, the flight had descended to 9,075 feet.

In the next 20 seconds, it had fallen to a height of 3,225 feet, also its last recorded altitude.