Rescue teams are searching for survivors after a plane crash in southern China

Rescuers are searching for survivors after a 132-passenger East China Airlines flight, including nine crew members, crashed in southern China.

Local rescue and fire brigades, armed police and medical personnel were also present in the area to put out the fire caused by the Boeing 737 crash and search for survivors.

China Civil Aviation Authority confirmed the crash in a statement yesterday, saying rescuers had been dispatched to the crash site.

The Flight Radar 24 website, which monitors air traffic, also said that the six-year-old plane was in route from Kunming to Guangzhou and comunication disconnected with the aircraft which has a speed of about 970 km per hour at an altitude of about 1,000 meters, about 45 minutes before landing at the destination.