Family members of crash victims accommodated, given assistance: Airline

A total of 305 family members of 56 passengers on China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 have been accommodated in Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, after the plane crashed on Monday, said Liu Xiaodong, head of the airline's publicity department.

Liu told a news conference on Thursday afternoon family members have been housed and aided in Wuzhou, receiving assistance from 161 staff members of the airlines and local authorities.

The jet carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members left Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, at 1:11 pm on Monday, bound for Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province. Air traffic controllers lost track of the flight over Wuzhou.

Since the accident happened, the airline quickly established a leading group for safe production and accident investigation, with nine special working groups mainly responsible for on-site work disposal, information coordination, legal support, financial insurance and family assistance.

"Major departments and their head officials are on duty 24 hours every day to deal with emergencies and ensure the aftermath of the crash and daily operations can be carried out in an orderly manner," he said.

During the epidemic, the airline has set up a psychological counseling team of more than 800 people offering 24-hour services, he said, adding the professional force has provided psychological aid and life assistance to families of lost crew members. Psychological counseling is also provided for other staff of the company, especially flight crews, he said.

He also told media more than 200 family members of the passengers have gone to the site of the crash, adding the airline has organized a special team to continuously solicit feedback to provide them with better services.