- Title: CHINA: 159 PEOPLE FEARED DEAD AFTER WORST AIR CRASH IN CHINESE AVIATION HISTORY
- Date: 6th June 1994
- Summary: NEAR XIAN, CHINA (JUNE 6, 1994) 1. GV PAN/SVS: CRASH SITE/ WRECKAGE (3 SHOTS) 0.14 2. GVS: WRECKAGE (3 SHOTS) 0.25 3. GV: RESCUE WORKERS CLEARING WRECKAGE 0.30 4. GV: DOCTORS RUNNING TO SCENE 0.33 5. GV: POLICE USING RADIO 0.39 6. GV: SOLDIERS SEARCHING AREA 0.44 7. GVS: LUGGAGE/FLIGHT RECORDER ON GROUND (2 SHOTS) 0.50 8. GV: DOCTORS NEAR SCENE OF CRASH 0.56 9. GVS: WRECKED PLANE (3 SHOTS) 1.06 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
- Embargoed:
- Keywords:
- Location: NEAR XIAN, CHINA
- City:
- Country: ASIA China
- Reuters ID: LVA8W6T09HPWRPLJFU1OGD0T1TZ7
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: A Chinese airliner on a domestic flight from the tourist centre of Xian crashed on Monday (June 6), killing all but one of the 160 people on board in China's worst known civil aviation disaster, officials said.
The Russian-built Tupolev-154 crashed eight minutes after take-off on China Northwest Airlines flight 2303 to the southern city of Guangzhou.
China's Xinhua news agency said of the 160 passengers and crew on board, nine were foreigners.
Officials at Xian's Emergency Rescue Centre said one person had been found alive and sent to hospital in critical condition.
They said they assumed all others on board were dead, although complete information was not yet available.
Reports from the scene were confused, and officials in Beijing declined to give out much information.
The previous highest death toll from a plane crash in China was in November 1992 when all 141 people on board a China Southern Airlines Boeing 737 were killed when it slammed into a hill coming in to land at the scenic tourist city of Guilin.
Xian, which lies about 1000 kilometres (600 miles) southwest of Beijing, is home of a famous tomb, dating from 210 B.C., which is guarded by large terracotta warrior figures and is a prime tourist attraction.
China this year said it would overhaul its air transport industry, which must cope with a significant increase in passenger numbers. Unable even to train enough pilots, China's airlines have been plagued by crashes, hijackings and safety violations.
NOTE: AUDIO AS INCOMING
- Copyright Holder: CCTV (China) - NO RESALE MAINLAND CHINA
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp. This asset – including all text, audio and imagery – is provided by CCTV (China) - NO RESALE MAINLAND CHINA. Reuters does not guarantee the accuracy of, or endorse any views or opinions expressed in, this asset.
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None