No survivors have been found following the Boeing 737 plane crash in southern China, AP News reports.
The aircraft was carrying 132 people when it plummeted into hills in the Guangxi province and burst into a ball of flames yesterday.
Rescuers continue to search the wreckage, but China's state broadcaster reports that there is no sign of anyone having survived the hellish crash.
Meanwhile, relatives have gathered at Baiyun Airport in Guangzhou, waiting anxiously to hear any news of their lost family members.
The cause of the crash remains a mystery. Witnesses describe how the Boeing 737-800 dropped out of the sky shortly before it began its descent to Guangzhou airport, falling 30,000 ft in two minutes before exploding on impact.
Chen Weihao - who saw the plane fall out of the sky - told Xinhua News Agency that it hit a gap in the mountainside where nobody lived, leaving behind a deep pit.
"The plane looked to be in one piece when it nosedived. Within seconds, it crashed," they said.
Rescuers continue to search for the plane's black boxes, which hold the flight data and cockpit voice recorders essential to understanding why the aircraft went down. The search is being conducted using a combination of drones and manual search. A base of operations has also been set up near the crash site for rescue vehicles, ambulances, and emergency power supply trucks, while soldiers and rescue workers search through the dense vegetation for survivors or remains.
China's Transport Ministry reports that China Eastern has grounded their entire Boeing 737-800 fleet. The airline has over 600 planes, 109 of which are the Boeing 737-800 model. Domestic travel in China is expected to be severely disrupted in the immediate future.
The crash is one of the worst in China's history. BBC News reports that there has not been a major incident with a Chinese airline for 12 years. It was then that a flight from Harbin crashed in Yichun in August 2010. Forty-two people died in the incident.
Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of all of those onboard.
