55 die in China plane crashes

55 die in China plane crashes

A China Eastern commuter plane crashed into a frozen lake seconds after takeoff in Inner Mongolia on Sunday, killing 53 people on board, including an Indonesian, and one on the ground, the airline and state media said.

"Witnesses said that the plane broke into flaming fragments, a house beside the park was damaged by the falling aircraft and several yachts nearby were scorched," Xinhua news agency said.

It quoted one witness as saying the plane was trailing black smoke and rocking violently when there was an explosion and the plane crashed and broke apart.

Xinhua said the plane smashed through a park ticket office and state television said one person on the ground was killed. It earlier said two.

The Canadian-made Bombardier CRJ200, flown by two pilots, took off from the industrial city of Baotou, nearly 600 km west of Beijing, en route to eastern Shanghai, China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd. said on its website.

State television showed pictures of rescuers pulling debris from below the broken ice (photo above). The remains of 46 victims had been found but not the black box flight recorders, Xinhua said. Police cordoned off the park, two kilometer from the runway.

The weather was clear, with the temperature around 6 to 7 degrees Celsius, when the plane, operated by a unit of China Eastern Yunnan Branch Co. crashed into the giant lake in Nanhai Park at 8.20 a.m. (7:20 a.m in Jakarta), an airport official said.

The fire was put out at the lake and more than 400 people, including firefighters, police officers, park staff and a 20- member diving team from Baotou Iron and Steel, a major steel producer, joined the rescue work. -- Reuters