Search teams have recovered one of the black boxes from China Eastern's plane that crashed on Monday in the south of the country with 132 people on board, state media reported Wednesday.
The device, which despite its name is bright orange, is so damaged that at the moment it is not possible to determine whether it is the one that records flight data or cockpit voices.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, traveled between the cities of Kunming (southwest) and Guangzhou (southeast) and took off at 13.15 local time (05.15 GMT) on Monday before quickly rushing ashore in the Guangxi region at 14.38 local time (06.38 GMT) on the same day.
A black box “from China Eastern (flight) MU5735 was found on March 23,” Liu Lusong, a spokesman for the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC), told the press.
Forty-eight hours after the accident, the authorities have not yet reported the discovery of human remains, while rescue work continues in the rugged area where the aircraft rushed.
The incident caused a forest fire in the area, difficult for rescue teams to access due to its rugged terrain and remote location.
The People's Liberation Army (Chinese Army) mobilized 80 soldiers from the region early Tuesday to assist in the rescue efforts, which were added to more than 700 firefighters from the local province and another 500 sent by the neighbouring province, Canton.
The fire was put out on Monday afternoon and the rescue teams were able to approach the crash site, where they continued their work during the night: “There are pieces of the aircraft wing, some between two and three meters. There is also rubble and debris, some of which are probably pieces of clothing,” described a worker quoted by the Xinhua agency.
The Guangxi Health Commission also sent 36 ambulances and 80 medical workers to the area to assist potential survivors, and Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Liu He has traveled to the area to lead the operations.
(With information from EFE and AP)
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