A China Eastern Airlines plane flying from north China's Baotou
City to Shanghai crashed moments after take-off Sunday morning,
killing all 47 passengers and six crew members aboard as well
as?one person on the ground.?
The accident happened at about 8:20 AM. Local officials in the
Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region rushed to the scene where the debris
of the small plane were scattered, and smoke was still billowing
from the crash site, eye-witnesses said.
The Flight Mu5210, a CRJ200 turbo plane belonging to Eastern
Airlines' Yunnan branch, crashed into a frozen lake in Nanhai Park
of Baotou.
Witnesses said that the plane broke into flaming fragments. A
house beside the park was damaged by the falling aircraft, one
person on the
ground was killed?and several yachts nearby were
scorched.
The fire caused by the accident has been put out. Firefighters
and police are breaking the ice on the lake to search for the
victims.?All the
bodies have been recovered till press time.
At this stage, it is not known why the plane nose-dived
immediately after take-off. China's air authorities said they will
carry out an investigation into the crash.
(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily,?China.org.cn
November 21, 2004)
