Chinese Boeing 737 plane crash in 7 pictures

NEW DELHI: A China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 with 132 people on board crashed in mountains in southern China on Monday after a sudden descent from cruising altitude.
According to Chinese state media, there is no signs of survivors.
Here are seven pictures shedding light on the tragic accident

Unverified footage on Twitter showed the jet nosediving to the ground behind the trees.

The flight left Kunming at 1:11pm (0511 GMT), FlightRadar24 data showed, and had been due to land in Guangzhou at 3:05pm (0705 GMT). It crashed in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou.
The plane, which Flightradar24 said was six years old, had been cruising at 29,100 feet at 0620 GMT. Just over two minutes and 15 seconds later, data showed it had descended to 9,075 feet. Twenty seconds later, its last tracked altitude was 3,225 feet.

Rescue officials said that the plane had disintegrated following the crash and caused a major fire which destroyed bamboo trees. The People's Daily quoted a provincial firefighting department official as saying there was no sign of life among the debris.

Hundreds of rescue workers were swiftly dispatched from Guangxi and neighboring Guangdong province. Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an "all-out effort'' by the rescue operation, as well as for an investigation into the crash and to ensure complete civil aviation safety.

State media also showed some pieces of the plane on a scarred, earthen hillside.

China Eastern online made its website have a black-and-white homepage after the crash. The airline later said it deeply mourned the loss of passengers and crew, without specifying how many people had been killed.

A file photo shows a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 aircraft parked at Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan.
The shares of US planemaker and its suppliers fell on Monday following the crash. The popular variant is a predecessor to the Boeing's 737 MAX, which awaits regulatory approval in China, the world's largest domestic aviation market.
Meanwhile, India's DGCA has also put the Boeing 737 fleets of Indian carriers on "enhanced surveillance". Three Indian carriers — SpiceJet, Vistara and Air India Express — have Boeing 737 aircraft in their fleets.
(With inputs from agencies)