President Tsai Expresses Condolences After China Eastern Crash 蔡對空難表達哀悼 陸委會:查明有無台人

President Tsai Ing-wen expressed her condolences after a China Eastern Airlines plane crashed on March 21. The Mainland Affairs Council says it is investigating whether there were any Taiwan nationals on board the plane.

China Eastern flight MU5735, which was carrying 132 people and flying from Kunming to Guangzhou, crashed on March 21. It remains unknown whether there were any survivors. A 1,000-person strong search and rescue operation is ongoing, and numerous support personnel are also on hand. The operation began on March 21 and continued into the morning of March 22. The location where the plane crashed is remote and there is only one access road, complicating the operation.
 

CCTV News Segment: “As of right now, no one on board the plane has been found. The accident occurred in a mountainous area that is surrounded on three sides by mountains. The accident site is actually a small valley, and there is only one access road that leads there. This road is also quite narrow, complicating the entire search and rescue operation.”

Information from China's Civil Aviation Administration indicated the plane was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members, which was one person fewer than prior reports about 133 people on board. A person who had plans to fly from Tengchong to Kunming and then transfer onto the ill-fated China Eastern flight to get to Guangzhou but changed his plans at the last minute shared this experience on social media.

TikTok Celebrity: “I wasn't on board the flight because my first flight was canceled and I returned my ticket. I hope everyone that was on board the flight will return safely.”

A CCTV report quoted China Eastern as saying there were no foreigners on board the flight. The Mainland Affairs Council has asked the Straits Exchange Foundation and Civil Aeronautics Administration to speak with their Chinese counterparts and determine whether there were any Taiwan nationals on board.

Chiu Tai-san, Mainland Affairs Minister: “Right now, it has only been confirmed that there were no foreigners. As to whether there are any of our nationals, the Straits Exchange Foundation is using many channels including Taiwan businessperson associations to learn more and confirm that none of our nationals were on board. This is the current situation.”

This is China's most serious aviation accident in many years. President Tsai Ing-wen expressed her condolences to all those affected, and also said she hopes the search and rescue operation will proceed smoothly.

中國東方航空MU5735墜毀事故，機上132人仍然生死未卜，廣西消防調派近一千名救援人力趕赴現場，加上各路通訊及電力等支援人馬，從入夜到22日上午仍持續搜索。不過班機墜毀點地處偏僻，只有一條小路可以通行，搜救難度倍增。

中國央視指出：「到目前為止還沒有發現機上的失聯人員，那另外為了因為整個失事的地方他是處於一個山區，三面環山事實上是一個小山凹，那只有一條道路是通往現場，道路也比較狹窄，所以給整個搜救任務也是帶來了很多難度。」

根據中國民航局資訊，這架班機共有旅客123人和機組員9人，與原先傳出的133人相差一人，當時一名原本要先從藤衝搭機到昆明、再轉搭失事班機到廣州的乘客，因為臨時退票逃過一劫。

網紅凌哥哥在抖音平台說：「我沒有上飛機，因為第一班航班取消了，所以我就退票了，上了飛機的朋友們能順順利利、平平安安的都回來。」

央視報導引述東方航空指出，失事航班上沒有外籍乘客，陸委會方面也已經請海基會及民航局等相關單位和中方確認，儘速協助查明機上是否有台灣民眾。

陸委會主委邱太三回應：「那目前大概只確認確實是沒有外籍的人士，那到底有沒有我們國人呢，那目前海基會也在多方面，包括希望透過台商協會等等來了解，是不是上面確實有無我們國人在上面，目前為止是這樣的一個狀況。」

發生中國近年來最嚴重的飛安事故，總統蔡英文除了向不幸罹難的旅客及家屬表達哀悼之意，也希望搜救工作能夠順利進行。