WUZHOU, March 22 -- China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735, en route from Kunming to Guangzhou, lost contact and crashed in Wuzhou city of South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region at 14:38 on March 21. There were 123 passengers and 9 crew members on board.

The PLA Southern Theater Command launched the emergency response mechanism at the news. The PLA Wuzhou Military Sub-command, as well as the Wuzhou Detachment of the Chinese People’s Armed Police (PAP) Force, both dispatched rescue forces to the scene of the accident without one-minute delay.

Meanwhile, an army aviation brigade, a transport and rescue brigade of the air force, and the armed police troops stationed around the accident site promptly completed their preparation and stood ready for duty.

On the evening of March 21, the wildfire caused by the plane crash had been put out, and parts of the wreckage and debris of the plane had been found. But sadly, there had been no news of the missing personnel. On-site emergency rescue forces have set up two temporary command posts for search and rescue and conducted on-site protection around the crash site.

In early hours of March 22, the relevant units were continuing search and rescue work after overnight operations. The temporary command post used unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for search and rescue, and set up a UAV-mounted base station to provide 24-hour communication support.

As of press time, on-site rescue, aftermath disposal and accident investigation were still in progress.