Wreckage from Flight MU5735 is seen Tuesday morning in the hills of Teng county, South China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members when it crashed Monday. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin

Aircraft wreckage is seen Tuesday. Flight MU5735 crashed in an abandoned mining area near Molang village in Teng county en route to Guangzhou after taking off from Kunming, Southwest China’s Yunnan province, at 1:10 p.m. Monday. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin

Footage captured by a nearby mining company had shown the plane in a nosedive as it fell to the ground. Photo: IC Photo

An object suspected to be plane wreckage hangs in the branches of a tree Tuesday. Pieces of aircraft wreckage were seen scattered around the crash site. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin

Lights from an emergency shelter illuminate part of a mountain in the crash area Tuesday. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin

Rescue personnel take rest in a tent. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin

A police officer cordons off the crash area Tuesday morning. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin

Search and rescue efforts are underway in the crash area. China’s civil aviation authority activated its emergency response mechanism and dispatched a working group to the scene after the accident. Photo: VCG

The crash caused the surrounding forest to catch fire, though the blaze was later extinguished. China Eastern has grounded its entire 737-800 fleet and established a special working group to investigate the accident and to support affected families. Photo: VCG