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
Pakistan hikes petrol price by Rs8 per liter for next fortnight
- Pakistan also increases price of high-speed diesel by Rs5.16 per liter, says energy ministry’s notification
- Latest price hikes takes place amid increased tensions in Middle East following US, Israel airstrikes against Iran
KARACHI: Pakistan’s government has increased the price of petrol by Rs8 per liter for the next fortnight, the Ministry of Energy announced in a notification this week.
The notification issued late Saturday night said the new price of petrol has increased from Rs258.17 to Rs266.17 per liter.
Meanwhile, the new price of high-speed diesel (HSD) has also increased by Rs5.16 per liter, pushing the new price to Rs280.86 per liter.
“The government has revised the prices of petroleum products based on recommendations of OGRA [Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority],” the notification reads.
Fuel prices in Pakistan are reviewed fortnightly and are influenced by global oil prices, exchange rate movements and domestic taxes. The pricing mechanism passes changes in import costs on to consumers.
Pakistan’s government also increased the price of petrol by Rs5 per liter and that of HSD by Rs7.32 per liter on Feb. 15.
The latest price hike takes place amid increased tensions in the Middle East, a day after the US and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran.
Iran retaliated by attacking US military bases in several Gulf nations. Analysts fear the conflict could rattle global markets, particularly if Iran makes the Strait of Hormuz unsafe for commercial traffic.
A third of worldwide oil exports transported by sea passed through the strait in 2025.
