What to know about the search for 132 passengers in China airline crash

Search efforts are ongoing following a China Eastern Airlines flight that crashed in the southern province of Guangxi on Monday. It remains unknown if there are any survivors. 

The flight was a Boeing 737-800 aircraft and carried 132 people, comprising 123 passengers and nine crew members. It took off shortly after 1 p.m. local time. It was scheduled to land just after 3 p.m., but air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane around 2:15 p.m., according to USA Today.

Rescue efforts have been complicated by electric outages, rainy weather forecasts and mountainous terrain. Rescuers told the state-run Xinhua News Agency that only debris from the wreckage was found, USA Today added.

An official from one village also told the Chutian Metropolis Daily newspaper that the plane had “completely disintegrated” and there were no remains to be seen, USA Today reported.

The state-run China News Service also said that a resident from the village of Molang attempted to assist with rescue efforts but saw no remains, The New York Times reported.

“The cause of the plane crash is still under investigation, and the company will actively cooperate with relevant investigations,” the airline told the Times. “The company expresses its deep condolences to the passengers and crew members who died in the plane crash.”

Boeing added in a statement that its “technical experts are prepared to assist with the investigation led by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.”

The aircraft involved in the flight, the Boeing 737-800, has a good safety profile. 

The Boeing 737 Max has been grounded in several countries following multiple deadly crashes. That aircraft has not flown in China in three years.