The accident happened at about 8:20 AM. Local officials in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region rushed to the scene where the debris of the small plane were scattered, and smoke was still billowing from the crash site, eye-witnesses said.

The Flight Mu5210, a CRJ200 turbo plane belonging to Eastern Airlines' Yunnan branch, crashed into a frozen lake in Nanhai Park of Baotou.

Witnesses said that the plane broke into flaming fragments. A house beside the park was damaged by the falling aircraft, one person on the ground was killed and several yachts nearby were scorched.

The fire caused by the accident has been put out. Firefighters and police are breaking the ice on the lake to search for the victims. All the bodies have been recovered till press time.

At this stage, it is not known why the plane nose-dived immediately after take-off. China's air authorities said they will carry out an investigation into the crash.




(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily, China.org.cn November 21, 2004)