All 132 people aboard the China Eastern Airlines Boeing jet that crashed in the southern part of the country on Monday were confirmed dead, Chinese authorities said Saturday.

The B-737-800, originally bound for the southeastern city of Guangzhou from Kunming in Yunnan Province, crashed in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday after it suddenly descended from its cruising altitude of around 8,900 meters.

Rescue workers continue searching near the crash site of a China Eastern Airlines Boeing jet on March 24, 2022, in Wuzhou in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. (Kyodo)

One of the two black boxes of Flight MU5735 was retrieved but potentially damaged, making it difficult for experts to extract data from the device, according to the official China Global Television Network.

China has said there were no foreign nationals aboard.

Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines, one of the nation's three major air carriers, owns more than 700 Boeing and Airbus jets under the SkyTeam alliance. It has suspended all flights of its B-737-800s following the crash.


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