Rescuers conduct search and rescue work at a plane crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 24, 2022. Photo: Xinhua

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it is working with the US, Chinese governments to solve visa and COVID quarantine issues before participating in crash investigation efforts in China.

Travel to China is currently limited by visa and COVID quarantine requirements, and the NTSB is working with the Department of State to address these issues with the Chinese government before any travel will be determined, according to an e-mail reply sent to the Global Times on Thursday, regarding an invitation to participate in the China Eastern Boeing 737-800 accident investigation.

The NTSB was notified of the accident on Monday by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), and the accredited representative and technical advisors have been appointed, and they are in contact with the CAAC investigator-in-charge, NTSB said. 

China ended a record of 4,227 safe flight days in after a China Eastern Boeing 737 with 132 people onboard crashed Monday afternoon in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Regarding an invitation to participate in the China Eastern Boeing 737-800 accident investigation, under the provisions of the International Civil Aviation Organization's Annex 13, the State of Design and Manufacture (in this case, the US) is entitled to appoint an accredited representative to participate in the investigation, NTSB said.

Accredited representatives are entitled to appoint technical advisors to assist them in the investigation, NTSB noted.

China is fully engaged in the search and rescue work and will carry out accident investigation in accordance with laws and regulations while maintaining communication with relevant parties, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of Foreign Ministry, said at the routine press conference on Thursday. 

When asked whether China would invite the NTSB to assist in the investigation, Zhu Tao, director of aviation safety office of the CAAC said at the press conference near the crash site in Wuzhou, South China's Guangxi on Thursday that the focus now is on the search and rescue efforts, while collecting evidence for the upcoming accident probe. 

''When entering the probe stage, we will invite relevant parties to participate in the probe in accordance with regulations," Zhu added.