All 132 on crashed China Eastern plane confirmed dead

According to the country’s civil aviation authority, all 132 people aboard the plane that crashed into a mountainside in southern China this week have been confirmed dead.

Dozens of relatives of the victims have been waiting for days as rescue teams combed heavily forested slopes for plane debris and signs of survivors from Monday’s crash near Wuzhou, Guangxi province.

“On March 21, all 123 passengers and nine crew members of China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 were killed on board,” Hu Zhenjiang, deputy director-general of China’s Civil Aviation Administration, said at a press conference.

“DNA identification has been used to determine the identities of 120 victims.”

Aviation officials confirmed the discovery of a black box, which they believe to be the cockpit voice recorder and should provide crucial information about the cause of the crash.

The cause has baffled aviation officials, who have scoured rugged terrain for clues in what is almost certainly China’s deadliest plane crash in nearly 30 years.

The disaster elicited an unusually swift public response from President Xi Jinping, who ordered an investigation into its cause while aviation authorities promised a two-week thorough examination of China’s vast passenger fleet.

Since the crash, the safety message has spread across industries.

On Wednesday, the State Council and the Ministry of Emergency Management issued a notice urging all industries to “rectify potential safety hazards.”