UPDATE - China Eastern Airlines plane crashes in mountains

UPDATES WITH TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE ONBOARD, STATEMENT OF CIVIL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL - A China Eastern Airlines plane carrying 132 people crashed in the mountains in southern China on Monday, the country's civil aviation authority said.

Casualties are feared among the 123 passengers and nine crew members, Chinese public broadcaster CGTN reported citing officials.

The plane "lost contact mid-air," the Civil Aviation Administration of China said.

The jet involved in the incident was a Boeing 737.

A forest fire which erupted at the crash site in Tengxian county of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has now been extinguished.

More than two dozen fire engines and hundreds of firefighters have been dispatched to the site but are facing hurdles due to the mountainous terrain, according to Chinese daily Global Times.

The flight was bound for the city of Guangzhou from Yunnan.