Identity of 120 people onboard the crashed plane confirmed
China Daily
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Workers remove wreckage at a plane crash site in Tengxian county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, March 25, 2022. (Photo: Xinhua)

The identity of 120 people, including 114 passengers and six crew members, onboard the crashed MU5735 has been confirmed by the public security department, head of the search and rescue team said on Saturday.

Local civil affairs department have arranged funeral service assistance. All the remains and belongings of the victims have been properly stored, said Zheng Xi, head of the Fire and Rescue Brigade of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The China Eastern Airline jet carrying 132 people crashed into a mountain in Guangxi on Monday.

"Search and rescue work is still underway," Zheng said at a news conference, adding that the team's current priority is searching for signs of lives and the second "black box". One of two "black box" flight recorders was recovered on Wednesday.

Zhu Tao, head of the aviation safety office of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said at the news conference that as of Saturday noon, 493 family members for 80 passengers have arrived in Wuzhou, Guangxi.

Zhu said each family will have tailored assistance such as psychological counseling. Their requests and claims will be handled timely.

A total 747 mental evaluations and 1,182 counseling sessions have been provided to families members, he said.

According to Liu Xiaodong, head of the China Eastern Airlines' publicity department, the airliner managed to contact families from all passengers onboard in 24 hours.

He said it is difficult to fulfill all requirements from each family in a short term, but many practical problems have been solved thanks to the quick response and cooperation from government departments from different regions and social assistance.

He also noted that the airline company has established a team to offer reassurance to families of missing crew members onboard, and also help the family to solve practical problems.