Plane Crash in China: Rescuers fail to find any survivors

Chinese rescuers are searching densely forested slopes in southern China where a China Eastern Airlines plane crashed and burst in flames, according to official media.

On a journey from Kunming to Guangzhou, flight MU5735 crashed in the mountains of southern Guangxi, killing 132 people, including nine crew members. The Boeing 737-800 disaster is China's first commercial plane accident since 2010.

The official Xinhua news agency reported that the accident had formed a deep depression in the mountainside, with debris strewn across the slopes. Other news agencies reported seeing the charred remains of ID cards, purses, and wallets.

"Plane wreckage was discovered at the scene," state broadcaster CCTV stated, "but none of those aboard the plane with whom contact was lost have been located to date."

When the plane suddenly plummeted from the sky, it was travelling at cruise altitude. The plane went from 29,100 feet (8,870 metres) to 7,850 feet (2,393 metres) in just over a minute, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.

It subsequently dropped to 3,225 feet (982 metres) after a brief uptick, according to the tracker.

Brief highway video footage from a vehicle's dashcam showed a jet plunging to the earth behind trees at an angle of roughly 35 degrees from vertical, according to Chinese media. The clip could not be authenticated right away.

"The jet plummeted vertically from the sky," a local told the state-run Beijing Youth Daily.

"I could see it was a jet even though I was far away. During the fall, the plane did not release any smoke. It landed in the mountains and set fire to them."

Hundreds of firefighters and paramilitary troops, including some with dogs, have been deployed to the location, according to state media. After noticing the flames, folks in the area rushed to aid.