Boeing 737 passenger jet carrying 133 crashes in rural China

A Boeing 737 passenger jet carrying 133 people has crashed in rural China – causing an unknown number of casualties.

The China Eastern plane smashed into countryside near Wuzhou city, Guangxi region, and ’caused a mountain fire’, state broadcaster CCTV said.

The report added that rescue teams were dispatched to the scene.

CCTV said a ‘China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 plane carrying 133 people has crashed in Teng county, Wuzhou, Guangxi, and caused a mountain fire.’

Local media reported China Eastern flight MU5735 had not arrived at its scheduled destination in Guangzhou after it took off from the city of Kunming shortly after 1pm (5am GMT) Monday.

The Boeing 737 plane crashed in the rural countryside near Wuzhou city, Guangxi region (file picture) and ’caused a mountain fire’, state broadcaster CCTV said, adding that rescue teams were dispatched to the scene

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

It was not immediately clear which variant of 737 was involved in the crash. China Eastern operates multiple versions of the common aircraft, including the 737-800 and the 737 Max.

The 737 Max version was grounded worldwide after two fatal crashes. China’s aviation regulator cleared the plane to return to service late last year.

China Eastern is one of China’s three major air carriers and is yet to comment on the crash.