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China Eastern flight MU5735: suspected debris found 10km from crash site, search area widened
- Long metal strip found by farmer in paddy field so far away sparks questions about possible mid-air break-up
- Search area to be expanded in hilly and forested crash site, where constant rain and landslide fears are making recovery efforts more difficult
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More than 10km (6.2 miles) from where China Eastern Airlines flight 5735 crashed, a farmer has found what he suspects to be a piece of aircraft debris, indicating the vast expanse of hilly terrain the search team must cover as they look for answers to why the plane plunged from the sky.
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Huang Jianyi said he found the piece of metal as he was weeding his paddy fields in the village of Siwang on Tuesday, a day after the Boeing 737-800 carrying 132 people crashed into a hillside in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
“I saw a piece of metal. It was white,” said Huang, who is about 80 and lives alone.
He held his arms wide and raised his palm to explain its dimensions to reporters walking with him on Thursday night.
02:22
Black box from crashed China Eastern Airlines flight found
Black box from crashed China Eastern Airlines flight found
Zheng Xi, head of the Guangxi regional fire and rescue office, said the piece of suspected wreckage was about 1.3 metres long and 10cm wide (4.3ft by 4 inches).
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