Beijing (PTI): A Chinese passenger plane with 132 people on board crashed in the southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday, the regional emergency management department said.

The Boeing 737 aircraft of China Eastern Airlines, which flew from Kunming to Guangzhou, crashed in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou, causing a mountain fire, the department was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

The 132 people included 123 passengers and nine crew members, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on its website.

The number of casualties is not clear yet, the report said.

Rescuers have been assembled and are approaching the site.

According to news portal The Paper, a staff member at Guangzhou's Baiyun International Airport said that flight MU5735 from Kunming to Guangzhou has not arrived at its destined time, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.

The domestic flight was scheduled to take off from Kunming at 1.10 pm (local time) and arrive at Guangzhou at 2.52 pm (local time) and is now marked out of reach on Baiyun airport's app.

Following the accident, videos and pictures purporting to come from the scene started circulating on social media showing smoke billowing from a hillside and wreckage on the ground.

China Eastern is one of China's three major air carriers.

China's airlines had recorded over 100 million continuous hours of safe flight as of February 19, according to Zhu Tao, an official with the Civil Aviation Administration, the Post reported.

The last domestic fatal incident was in 2010, when a plane crashed in Yichun, Heilongjiang province, killing 42 people.

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Raipur (PTI): Amid reports of shortage of commercial LPG cylinder in several parts of the country due to the US-Israel-Iran conflict, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Tuesday assured people that they need not worry about the availability of cooking gas in the state.

He asserted that adequate stock of LPG as well as petrol and diesel was available in the state.

Sai said in a statement that authorities have been directed to regularly monitor stock at gas agencies and keep a close watch on the supply chain. Necessary instructions were issued to officials in all districts to ensure a smooth supply of LPG.

The chief minister instructed officials to take strict action if any complaint of black marketing or hoarding of LPG cylinders is received.

Sai urged state residents not to pay attention to rumours and to book cooking gas cylinders as per their actual requirement.

The government was fully alert to ensure the availability of essential commodities to citizens, he emphasised.

Meanwhile, the Chhattisgarh Hotel and Restaurant Association has issued an advisory to hotels, restaurants, caterers and other food businesses across the state, urging them to maintain calm and avoid panic buying.

In the advisory, Taranjeet Singh Hora, president of the association, asked members to maintain coordination and immediately inform it about any major disruption in LPG supply.

He cautioned businesses against hoarding cylinders, saying such practices could worsen the situation for the entire hospitality sector.

The association advised hotels and restaurants to prioritise essential kitchen operations, core menu items and already committed banquet events.

Use electric cooking equipment wherever possible for emergency and staff kitchens such as induction cooktops, electric hot plates, electric rice cookers and kettles, the advisory stated.