Rescue work is underway in Tengxian county,South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on March 21, 2022 after the air crash. Photo: VCG

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Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and State Councilor Wang Yong led a team to the plane crash site in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region late Monday to guide the rescue work and investigation of the cause of the accident. 

After continuous search and rescue, parts of wreckage and debris of the passenger plane, China Eastern's Boeing 737, were found, but the missing people on board have not yet been found. Scattered and burnt ID documents, wallets and other items of people who were on the plane were spotted.

The plane with 132 people onboard crashed earlier on Monday afternoon in a mountainous village in Tengxian county, in Guangxi's Wuzhou. The fire caused by the crashed plane was stamped out. 

The rescue was made overnight. To facilitate rescue operations, a drone mobile base station has been set up, and the base station can guarantee a flight of more than 200 meters and remain in the air for 24 hours. 

Parts of wreckage and debris of the passenger plane China Eastern's Boeing 737 are found. Photo: CCTV

 
DJI Technology dispatched an emergency rescue drone team to the site on Monday to assist the emergency rescue force with aerial drone surveys, the company said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Tuesday. These drones are equipped with night vision and infrared function, which can record pictures or videos in dark conditions and provide reference for the rescue decision-making, the company said.

Around 3 am Tuesday, a vehicle carrying raincoats, waterproof boots and tents reached the temporary rescue command center at a local school in Tengxian. Meteorological forecast showed the region will have heavy rainfall in the next three days from Tuesday. 

Medical teams were sent from various departments. Wuzhou arranged a designated hospital and had a team of more than 200 medical workers ready to cope with any emergency rescue. Local residents started to donate blood voluntarily for the rescue work. 

With the help of the local government, more than 70 experts and 30 medical workers working on helicopters reached Wuzhou on Monday afternoon. Ten family members also went to the crash site. 

The Guangxi Health Commission also sent 12 experts good at treating critical illnesses, burns, orthopedic surgery, and trauma to Tengxian. Some 80 medical workers and 36 ambulances had stationed at the site to deal with any rescue missions. 

The first batch of more than 50 psychologist from across Guangxi were also dispatched. 

The Tengxian government is organizing 749 rooms in five hotels for the families of the victims the arriving rescue expert teams.

Because the crash site is located in a mountainous village where three sides of it are surrounded by mountains, only a narrow road leads to it. This has made rescue work difficult. A highway was closed and used as a channel for rescue vehicles.

Rescue efforts from various departments were made immediately after the accident. After the Wuzhou Fire Brigade sent the first batch of 117 firefighters to the plane crash site, the Guangxi Fire Brigade later allocated another 538 firefighters from other cities to the site. 

Neighboring Guangdong Province also dispatched 97 vehicles, 505 firefighters, and four medical experts to the site to participate in the rescue work, according to the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission. 

The PLA Southern Theater Command organized forces on Monday to join the rescue efforts at the crash site with multiple units standing by. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) sent a working group and reached the scene to conduct an investigation late Monday. 

Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Monday that the specific reason of the accident can only be determined once the black box has been recovered.