A Chinese airliner carrying 132 people has crashed in the southern province of Guangxi with no sign of survivors.

       The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft had 123 passengers and nine crew members on board when it crashed near the city of Wuzhou in Teng county on Monday.

       Thick smoke could be seen rising from the area after the incident sparked a fire on the mountainside, which burned down bamboo and trees.

       A rescue operation is underway but media cited a rescue official as saying the plane had completely disintegrated.

       A fire department official later told The People’s Daily there was no sign of life among the scattered debris.

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       The plane had been flying from the southwestern city of Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, to Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, bordering Hong Kong.

       Satellite data from NASA showed a massive fire in the area where the plane went down at the time of the crash.

       Initial reports said the aircraft was carrying 133 people but the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) later clarified the figure in a statement confirming the crash.

       The MU5735 flight departed Kunming at 1.11pm (5.11am GMT), according to data from flight-tracking website FlightRadar24.

       The last movements of China Eastern flight MU5735

       (Flightradar24)

       It had been due to land in Guangzhou, on the east coast, at 3.05pm (07.05am GMT) but tracking data showed it rapidly lost speed before entering a sharp descent at 2.22pm (6.22am GMT). The plane stopped transmitting data just southwest of Wuzhou.

       The plane had been cruising at an altitude 29,100 feet at 6.20am GMT, according to FlightRadar24 data.

       Just over two minutes and 15 seconds later, the next available data showed it had descended to 9,075 feet. In another 20 seconds, its last tracked altitude was 3,225 feet.

       Shanghai-based China Eastern is one of China’s top three airlines, operating scores of domestic and international routes serving 248 destinations.

       The aircraft was delivered to China Eastern from Boeing in June 2015 and had been flying for over six years.

       The twin-engine, single aisle Boeing 737 is one of the world’s most popular planes for short and medium-haul flights.

       A China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 aircraft parked at Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan, China's central Hubei province

       (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

       China Eastern operates multiple versions of the common aircraft, including the 737-800 and the 737 Max.

       The websites of China Eastern and Boeing China have both been changed to black and white as a sign of respect following the crash.

       Shares of Boeing Co were down 6. per cent at $180.44 in premarket trade. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

       Aviation data provider OAG earlier this month said state-owned China Eastern Airlines was the world’s sixth-largest by scheduled weekly seat capacity and the biggest in China.

       It has had a relatively strong performance in the domestic market during the coronavirus pandemic despite tight curbs on international flights, OAG said.

       Passengers sit in front of the self-service machines of China Eastern Airlines in Kunming Changshui International Airport on 21 March 2022

       (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

       The safety record of China’s airline industry has been among the best in the world over the past decade.

       According to Aviation Safety Network, China’s last fatal jet accident was in 2010, when 44 of 96 people on board were killed when an Embraer E-190 regional jet flown by Henan Airlines crashed on approach to Yichun airport in low visibility.

       The 737-800 model that crashed on Monday has a good safety record and is the predecessor to the 737 MAX model that has been grounded in China for more than three years following fatal crashes in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia.

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       1994, a China Northwest Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 flying from Xian to Guangzhou was destroyed in an accident after takeoff, killing all 160 people on board and ranking as China's worst-ever air disaster, according to Aviation Safety Network.

       Additional reporting by agencies