2 Chinese Passengers Escape Disaster For Not Boarding Flight That Crashed In Guangxi
At the time of writing, rescuers have yet to find any survivors at the site of the crash in Guangxi, China.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 22 Mar 2022, 05:07 PM
Two Chinese nationals have managed to escape danger after they decided not to board a China Eastern Airlines flight, which crashed on Monday, 21 March
The two individuals — a man and a woman — both had different reasons for not boarding the Boeing 737-800 flight from Kunming to Guangzhou, China.
New York Times reported that 132 people were on the plane, of which 123 were passengers and nine crew members.
State media reports initially said 133 passengers were on board.
According to China News Service, a passenger surnamed Xin (transliteration) was supposed to be on board, but her boyfriend suggested that she take a COVID-19 swab test before the flight.
Thus, she ended up changing her flight to this morning, 22 March.
After learning about the accident, she wrote on her social media, "I'm in a complicated mood now"
"My hands are shaking and I can't type. Thank you for your concern. I'm still in Yunnan, but I can't (fly) yet because I have a star (indicating that she is from a COVID-19 risky area) on my itinerary record."
Meanwhile, a 24-year-old passenger surnamed Huang (transliteration) changed his mind at the eleventh hour and requested for a refund for his flight
"I didn't board the plane," he said in a video, published on Jiu Pai News' Weibo.
"The first flight was cancelled, so I requested a refund."
The first flight Huang referred to was a connecting flight from Tengchong to Kunming.
"Thank you, friends, for your concern, and I wish those who got on the plane can come back smoothly and safely," he added.
At the time of writing, rescuers have not found any survivors at the site of the crash in Guangxi
"Wreckage of the plane was found at the scene, but up until now, none of those aboard the plane with whom contact was lost have been found," The Wall Street Journal quoted state broadcaster China Central Television as saying this morning, more than 18 hours after the crash.
It was learnt that the flight was cruising like usual on Monday before nosediving at 2.20pm local time, according to flight-tracking data.
The aircraft's black box has yet to be found as the plane wreckage was scattered across a forested mountainous region in Guangxi, making the search for the flight data recorder difficult.
China's President Xi Jinping has since issued a statement calling for rescuers to do their utmost and "handle the aftermath in a proper manner", reported The New York Times.
