Plane carrying 132 crashes in south China

Rescuers set out to the plane crash site of Tengxian county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, March 21, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

A China Eastern Airlines aircraft carrying 132 people crashed in Southern China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Monday, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said.

The plane was traveling from Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, to Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province. Air traffic controllers lost track of the plane in Wuzhou, Guangxi

President Xi Jinping has called for full rescue efforts.

The plane was traveling from Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, to Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province. Air traffic controllers lost track of the plane in Wuzhou, Guangxi. The flight was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members.

ALSO READ: China's civil aviation records 420m passenger trips in 2020

The administration initiated the nation's emergency response mechanism and dispatched a working group to the crash site to investigate. No information concerning casualties was available.

A village official, surnamed Zhou, who participated in the on-site rescue said the plane had completely disintegrated and he did not see remains of the victims at the scene, according to Chutian Metropolis Daily – a newspaper based in Wuhan, Hubei province.

READ MORE: IATA: China world's largest domestic air travel market in '20

The village official said the crash has caused a forest fire around the site. Firefighters have arrived and extinguished most of the blaze.

The Wuzhou fire brigade has sent 117 firefighters with 23 fire trucks to the site. Further 538 firefighters from other parts of Guangxi have been dispatched to join in the rescue efforts, the regional fire department said at its Weibo account.

The neighboring Guangdong province has dispatched 505 firefighters and 97 vehicles to aid the rescue operation, with the first batch having arrived at the scene.

The Guangxi regional health commission has dispatched 12 medical experts to the site while over 80 medical workers and 36 ambulances sent by health authorities in the city of Wuzhou have arrived at the scene.

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows the plane crash site in Tengxian county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, March 21, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

China Eastern Airlines said on Monday that it hasestablished nine special working groups for aircraft disposal, accident investigation, family assistance, logistics support, legal support, public relations, security, financial insurance, and cargo disposal.

The working groups were en route to the site, and the company said that the cause of the accident would be fully investigated.

Boeing China said it is aware of the media reports of the China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft crash and is working to gather more information.

With Xinhua inputs