China Accident Response Headquarters: No traces of explosives such as gunpowder
Full effort in searching for the second black box and hazardous materials
[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] On the 26th, Chinese aviation authorities officially confirmed that all passengers aboard the China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800GN passenger plane (MU 5735), which crashed on the 21st, have died.
According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 27th, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) accident response headquarters confirmed that all 123 passengers and 9 crew members aboard the crashed plane died.
The CAAC stated that based on air traffic control radar and debris site investigation and analysis, no signs of life were found at the search site, and DNA identification confirmed the identities of 120 victims (114 passengers and 6 crew members).
Additionally, the CAAC explained that although a total of 24,047 pieces of aircraft debris were collected at the accident site, the second black box has not yet been found.
It is known that the search has been difficult as debris from the crashed plane was found as far as 12 km away from the accident site due to the impact at the time of the crash.
No traces of explosives were found in the aircraft debris.
The accident response headquarters announced that out of 66 samples collected from the aircraft debris, 41 were tested and no components of inorganic or organic explosives were detected. Accordingly, it appears that a preliminary conclusion has been reached that the accident was not caused by external pressure such as terrorism.
Huozhenjiang, deputy head of the accident response headquarters, said, "It is very sad and regrettable to report that all passengers aboard the 3.21 China Eastern Airlines flight have died," adding, "We will further strengthen search activities at the accident site and do our best to recover the remains of the victims." He also expressed deep condolences once again to the 132 victims and their families.
On the 21st at around 1:10 PM, the China Eastern Airlines passenger plane took off from Kunming Changshui Airport in Yunnan Province, heading to Guangzhou Baiyun Airport in Guangdong Province, but crashed around 2:21 PM near a mountainous area in Teng County, Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
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