China plane crash: Search operations suspended as rain washes away debris

Search operations at the crashing site of Boeing 737-800 plane in China were suspended on Wednesday as rain slicked the area and the pit formed by the impact was filled up with water. The plane crashed in the Guangxi region on Monday.

The news comes a day after rescuers deployed to the site failed to find any survivors, according to state media reports. The 132 people on board, nine of whom were crew members, are presumed dead.

Earlier, searchers had used hand tools, drones and sniffer dogs under rainy conditions to comb the heavily forested slopes for the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, as well as any human remains, according to reports from Associated Press.

The water that filled up the pit on the mountain was partially pumped out, however, the efforts were foiled on Wednesday as the risk of landslides spiked.

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Video clips posted by China’s state media showed small pieces of the Boeing 737-800 plane scattered over the area. Mud-stained wallets, bank and identity cards have also been recovered. Each piece of debris has a number next to it, the larger ones marked off by police tape.

Has the cause of the crash been determined?

Authorities have released no conclusive statements or reports so far about the crash that determine its cause. Investigators have also said that it is too early to speculate the cause of the incident.

Zhu Tao, who is the director of China’s Office of Aviation Safety at the Civil Aviation Authority, said that the pilot was contacted by an air-traffic controller several times. However, there was no response from the aircraft.

The plane went into an unexplained dive an hour after departure and stopped transmitting data 96 seconds into the fall, according to reports from Associated Press.