A photo of some personal belongings of the passengers aboard Flight MU5735, a China Eastern Airlines flight that crashed in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on March 21, 2022. [Photo/CCTV News]

Some personal belongings of the passengers on a China Eastern Airlines flight that crashed in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Monday were discovered by a search and rescue team.

Flight MU5735 left Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, at 1:11 pm and was scheduled to arrive in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, at 3:05 pm. Air traffic controllers lost track of the plane over Wuzhou, Guangxi. The flight was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members.

According to video footage released by CCTV around noon on Tuesday, the search and rescue team found wallets, identification cards and bank cards at the crash site in a forest near Tengxian county's Molang village.

No information about the passengers and crew members was available by 1 pm.

Much of the debris from the aircraft is in small pieces, said Li Chenbin, who heard a loud bang caused by the crash echoing across the mountains covered by forest around 2:20 pm on Monday.

"I heard a loud bang while working on the mobile communication network nearby," said Li, a technician with China Mobile's Guangxi branch. "I then rushed to the site with my colleagues and saw the aircraft debris, much of which was in small pieces. It was scattered all over the mountains. The biggest piece I saw is part of a wing with China Eastern's logo."

Without a stable electricity supply, search and rescue teams have been using emergency lights and head lights to work overnight, said Li, who stayed near the site to maintain the mobile communication network that is critical for search and rescue efforts.

As the crash site is surrounded by mountains on three sides with only a narrow road that leads to it, it's been difficult to carry out the search and rescue work. Local villagers have been using motorbikes to carrying supplies, including tents, food and water, to the crash site.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China and the Ministry of Emergency Management have sent task forces to the site to help with the rescue efforts. In addition, Vice-Premier Liu He and State Councilor Wang Yong have instructed relevant officials to guide the rescue efforts, the aftermath and the investigation into the cause of the crash.

Sources: chinadaily.com.cn