No Pinoys hurt in China plane crash, says consul general

No Filipinos were hurt after a China Eastern jet carrying 132 passengers crashed in a remote mountainside in Southern China, Philippine Consul General to Beijing Dinno Oblena said Tuesday.

In an interview over GTV’s dzBB Super Radyo, Oblena said authorities confirmed all passengers of the  Boeing 737-800 aircraft are Chinese nationals and no Filipinos or foreigners are aboard the plane when it fell and burst into flames while supposedly en route from the western city of Kunming to the metropolis of Guangzhou Monday afternoon.

“Sa kasalukuyan po, patuloy ang investigation at operations ng authority ng Guanzhou province kung saan nangyari yung tragedy. Nakikipag-ugnayan din naman po ang konsulada sa Guanzhou, local authorities sa probinsya at na-confirm na walang foreigner at wala po tayong mga kababayan na among don sa listahan ng passengers ng nasawing eroplano,” Oblena said.

The Philippines has expressed condolences to the families of the victims. Oblena believes China will temporarily suspend the operations of 737 to further probe the incident.

Investigation on what caused the tragic plane crash is still ongoing. China has yet to issue an official death toll as rescuers struggle to find survivors after only mud-stained wallets, bank cards, and official identity cards were seen at the crash site, a report from Agence-France Presse said.

The tragedy ended China’s record of 4,227 safe flight days in the history of civil aviation. It is also seen to become the country’s deadliest crash in three decades.—Sundy Mae Locus/LDF, GMA News