No survivors have been found yet in the horrific Monday crash of the China Eastern plane that plunged into the forested mountainous area with 132 people on board, state media confirmed Tuesday.
“Wreckage of the plane was found at the scene, but up until now, none of those aboard the plane with whom contact was lost have been found,” state broadcaster CCTV said more than 18 hours after the wreck in southern China.
The cause of the crash, which Chinese officials say is the country’s worst air disaster over a decade, was not immediately clear.
State media had cited a rescue official who said the plane had completely disintegrated upon impact.
China Eastern Flight 5735 was traveling 523 mph at around 29,000 feet around 2:20 p.m. when the plane suddenly fell from the sky and erupted into flames.
Horrifying footage captured the doomed plane’s free fall towards the ground before it slammed into a mountain near the city of Wuzhou in the southern province of Guangxi.
The fiery crash was large enough to be seen on NASA satellite images.
