Terrifying footage shared online claims to show the final moments of the Chinese Eastern Airlines flight in a steep dive moments before it crashed, reportedly killing all onboard.
The Boeing 737-800 suddenly plummeted from around 30,000 at around 2.30pm local time into the mountains near the city of Wuzhou in Teng county.
It had 132 people aboard, with nine members of crew, who are feared dead in the burning wreckage.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered an “all-out rescue effort” and ordered workers to search for any survivors of the tragedy.
Nearly 120 rescuers have already arrived at the crash site with another 650 set to join them.
However The People's Daily quoted a provincial firefighting department official as saying there was no sign of life among the scattered debris.
CCTV from a nearby mining site claims to show MU5735 seconds before it crashed to the ground in a horrifying near vertical dive, potentially dooming all on board.
In the video two workers are overheard talking before the plane appears in shot, falling thousands of feet in just seconds.
Data from flight-tracking website FlightRadar24.com showed MU5735 had been travelling at around 30,000ft when it suddenly entered a deep dive at its cruising altitude speed of 523mph.
The data suggests the plane crashed within a minute-and-a-half of what caused the disaster.
China Eastern Airlines said in a statement: “Can confirm the plane has crashed.”
Other videos shot by locals showed an out of control fire raging in an area of the mountains - reportedly the plane’s final resting place.
Several also shared images of large pieces of debris discovered nearby, including of the fuselage.
Satellite data from Nasa showed a massive fire in the area of where the plane went down at the time of the crash.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said it has sent a team of officials, and the Guangxi fire service said work was under way to control the mountainside blaze ignited by the crash.
The CAAC’s statement read: "The CAAC has activated the emergency mechanism and sent a working group to the scene.”
State media said local police first received calls from villagers alerting them to the crash at around 2.30pm local time.
Shanghai-based China Eastern is one of the country's top three airlines, operating domestic and international routes serving 248 destinations.
The twin-engine, single-aisle Boeing 737 is one of the world's most popular planes for short and medium-haul flights.
China Eastern operates multiple versions of the common aircraft, including the 737-800 and the 737 Max.
The 737 Max version was grounded worldwide after two fatal crashes.
Boeing has been approached for comment.
