ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday he was “deeply saddened” as a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 with 132 people on board crashed in the mountains in southern China on a domestic flight.
Media have said there was no sign of survivors. President Xi Jinping called for investigators to determine the cause of the crash as soon as possible, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
“Deeply saddened by the tragic loss of lives in the passenger plane crash in China,” Khan said on Twitter. “We share the grief of our Chinese brothers and sisters and convey our deepest condolences and sympathies with the bereaved families.”
The plane crashed en route from the southwestern city of Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, to Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, bordering Hong Kong.
China Eastern said the cause of the crash, in which the plane descended at 31,000 feet a minute according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, was under investigation.
Media cited a rescue official as saying the plane had disintegrated and caused a fire destroying bamboo trees. The People’s Daily quoted a provincial firefighting department official as saying there was no sign of life among the debris.
The aircraft, with 123 passengers and nine crew on board, lost contact over the city of Wuzhou, China’s Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and the airline said. The flight left Kunming at 1:11 p.m. (0511 GMT), FlightRadar24 data showed, and had been due to land in Guangzhou at 3:05 p.m. (0705 GMT).
The plane, which Flightradar24 said was six years old, had been cruising at 29,100 feet at 0620 GMT. Just over two minutes and 15 seconds later, data showed it had descended to 9,075 feet.
Twenty seconds later, its last tracked altitude was 3,225 feet.
PM Khan says ‘deeply saddened’ as Chinese plane crashes in mountains with 132 on board
https://arab.news/7mc9t
PM Khan says ‘deeply saddened’ as Chinese plane crashes in mountains with 132 on board
- The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed in the mountains in southern China on a domestic flight
- China Eastern said cause of crash, in which plane descended at 31,000 feet a minute, was being probed
Customs seize contraband, vehicles worth $1.1 million in Pakistan’s southwest
- The contraband goods, including branded cigarettes and mobile phones, were seized in multiple operations in the Balochistan province
- Smugglers have long exploited the southwestern province, which shares a porous border with Iran and Afghanistan, for illicit trade
KARACHI: Pakistan Customs seized contraband goods and vehicles in multiple anti-smuggling operations in the southwestern Balochistan province, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said on Sunday.
In an intelligence-based operation (IBO), Customs officials seized 508 cartons (25,400 sticks) of assorted branded smuggled cigarettes valued at Rs200 million ($713,891), according to the FBR.
In separate operations, Quetta customs authorities seized a large number of smuggled mobile phones and 13 non-custom-paid (NCP) vehicles, with a combined assessed value of Rs117 million ($417,626).
“All seized items have been taken into official custody and further legal proceedings are being initiated under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act,” the FBR said in a statement.
It did not elaborate whether any arrests were made during the seizures.
The development comes amid Pakistan’s crackdown on smuggling of goods to support its over $400 billion economy. Smugglers have long exploited Pakistan’s Balochistan province, which shares a porous border with Iran and Afghanistan, for illicit trade of fuel, vehicles and other goods.
Earlier this month, Pakistan Customs seized narcotics, smuggled goods and vehicles worth a total of Rs1.38 billion [$4.92 million] in separate operations in Balochistan, according to the FBR.
“These operations are part of the [customs] collectorate’s intensified enforcement drive aimed at curbing smuggling and dismantling illegal trade networks,” the FBR said on Dec. 16.
The FBR on Sunday reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to curbing smuggling and illicit trade to safeguard the national economy.
