Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a major rescue effort after a Boeing 737 with 132 people crashed Monday in southern China.
The Chinese flight MU5735 was carrying 132 people, including 123 passengers and nine staff, when contact was lost over the city of Wuzhou in southern China, according to NBC News. The plane was en route from the city of Kunming to the city of Guangzhou, China Eastern Airlines and China’s Civil Aviation Administration said, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Fighter Jet Crash Lands, Injures 7 Sailors On Aircraft Carrier)
There is currently no report on what caused the crash, nor how many people were killed or wounded, according to NBC News.
A China Eastern Airlines plane crashed with at least 132 people on board in southern China’s Guangxi region. There have been no reports of the number of casualties yet.
Over 650 rescuers arrived at the crash site to help. Satellite data showed a fire burning in the same area. pic.twitter.com/w8Jbm5dxrL
— AJ+ (@ajplus) March 21, 2022
Xi stated he was “shocked” after hearing news of the crash, according to Fox News. Rescuers were sent to the site of the crash in the Guangxi region after Xi Jinping called for an “all-out” rescue mission, NBC News reported, citing a state-run media outlet.
When the plane took flight from Kunming, it was expected to arrive in Guangzhou in under two hours, according to NBC News. However, data from FlightRadar24 showed the flight falling from about 29,000 feet in just minutes while less than an hour from its destination, the outlet reported.
Boeing stated that it knew of the crash reports and that it was “working to gather more information,” according to Fox News. Xi, meanwhile, has called for an investigation into the cause of the crash, the outlet reported.