Chinese authorities have revealed that all 132 victims of the China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 crash have been identified through DNA testing. The Boeing 737-800 crashed into a hillside in Wuzhou en route to Guangzhou

DNA testing identifies all 132 crash victims

After the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) confirmed that all 132 passengers and crew from China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 did not survive, Chinese authorities identified all 132 victims via DNA testing.

Liu Kaihui, from the Ministry of Public Security’s forensic evidence department, said DNA samples from relatives confirmed the identities of all victims.

Kaihui said,

“With the help of fingerprint comparisons, we have confirmed the identities of all the victims.”

During an official news conference on Monday, Kaihui also revealed that public security authorities across 20 regions were mobilized by collecting DNA samples from relatives of those onboard.

20 DNA experts carried out their analyses and had identified 120 of the victims (114 passengers and six crew) by Saturday. The identity of the final victim was confirmed on Monday.

Kaihui added,

“Search teams will now focus entirely on identifying the victims’ belongings and recovering wreckage.”

Guangxi authorities said more than 600 relatives had arrived in the area and compensation discussions were taking place.

President Xi Jinping held a moment of silence for the crash victims before a meeting on Monday.

Cause of crash still undetermined

In one of China’s deadliest aviation accidents, 123 passengers and nine crew members perished when the Boeing 737-800 lost more than 20,000 feet in altitude in just over a minute before crashing in Teng County, Wuzhou, on March 21st.

Both of the aircraft’s black boxes have been recovered. The South China Morning Post reports that both black boxes have been sent to a laboratory in Beijing for decoding.

Some experts have speculated that the failure of the plane’s horizontal tail could have caused the crash. Photo: Getty Images

Zhu Tao, CAAC aviation safety director, said,

“We are collecting as much debris as possible, as well as eyewitness footage, because black boxes alone may not be enough to reveal what really happened. We’ll release key findings to the public in a timely manner.”

However, search operations at the hilly and forested crash site near Wuzhou have been hampered by ongoing rainfall. The search has involved more than 15,600 firefighters and armed police, with over 36,000 pieces of debris recovered so far.

Additionally, a Guangxi official confirmed that no key compounds from explosives had been detected at the crash site.

Cooperation with US authorities

As Simple Flying reported last week, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be involved in the China Eastern Boeing 737 crash investigation as the aircraft was manufactured in the United States.

Foreign ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, confirmed that Chinese authorities would provide visa assistance to all foreign investigators, including representatives from Boeing, CFM and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Crash investigators have revealed that the Flight MU5735 investigation could take months to complete, with the plane’s severe damage making it even more difficult.

How long do you think the air crash investigation will take? Let us know in the comments.

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