China confirms all 132 people on China Eastern airlines MU5735 killed in crash

Of the 123 passengers and nine crew, 120 have been identified using DNA samples

Rescuers examine the site where the China Eastern airlines plane MU5735 crashed in Wuzhou, Guangxi. Reuters

All 132 people aboard the plane that crashed into a mountainside in southern China this week have been confirmed dead, the country's civil aviation authority said on Saturday.

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

The passengers and crew had been feared dead following the crash but the official confirmation came on Saturday.

While no cause has yet been determined, online tracking data showed the plane rapidly dropped from an altitude of about 8,900 metres to 2,400 metres in just over a minute.

“All 123 passengers and nine crew members of flight MU5735 of China Eastern airlines have been killed on board on March 21,” Hu Zhenjiang, deputy director general of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said.

“The identity of 120 victims has been determined by DNA identification.”

After the announcement, Mr Hu and the assembled journalists observed a minute's silence for the victims of the tragedy.

Aviation officials previously confirmed they had found a black box they believed to be the cockpit voice recorder, which should provide important clues to the cause of the crash.

The stricken jet, a Boeing 737-800, was fitted with two recorders: one in the rear passenger cabin tracking flight data, and the other a cockpit voice recorder.

Rescuers are still looking for the other recorder.

Aviation authorities have scoured the site's rugged terrain for clues as to what sparked China's deadliest plane crash in nearly 30 years.

China Eastern had earlier said the crashed plane, which was nearly seven years old, had met all airworthiness requirements.

Following the incident, the company launched a safety overhaul, grounding all 223 of its Boeing 737-800 planes for checks.

The disaster provoked an unusually swift public response from President Xi Jinping, who ordered an inquiry as aviation authorities began an extensive two-week check-up of China's vast passenger fleet.

The safety message has resonated across sectors.

A notice from the State Council and Ministry of Emergency Management on Wednesday called for industries across the board to “rectify potential safety hazards” .

The crash affects the return for Boeing's 737 Max in China, the last big market where the US plane maker is still awaiting approval to resume flying following crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed a combined 346 people in 2018 and 2019.