China have confirmed that one of the two black boxes has been found, albeit in a severely damaged condition. 

No survivors have yet been found from China Eastern flight MU5735 after it crashed in the hills in southern China on Monday.

Investigators still do not know why the Boeing 737-800 dropped out of the sky – but the discovery of the black box may provide some answers. 

Hundreds of responders have been scouring the forest in Wuzhou where debris from the plane was strewn following the crash.

Yesterday evening, 36 hours after the crash, China’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) confirmed the dire news that no survivors had been found. 

 Zhu Tao, aviation safety office director at the CAA, said: “Up to now, search and rescue work has not found any survivors.

“Given the information currently available, we still do not have a clear assessment of the cause for the crash.”

He added that air controllers had repeatedly called the aircraft during its descent but had received no response.

Hundreds of Chinese families have given an outpouring of grief as they wait for news about loved ones who were passengers and crew members. 

Parts of the 737’s burnt wreckage have been found. State broadcasters showed images of the charred remains of letters, bags, wallets and identity cards belonging to those on board.

The flight had head off from Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, and had been due to land in Guangzhou on Monday afternoon.

China Eastern has grounded all its Boeing 737-800s and set up a hotline for people seeking information on those on board.

The flight had been in the air for an hour and was nearing its destination when it abruptly plummeted. 

According to flight tracker data, the plane dropped thousands of metres in the space of three minutes. 

It plunged 7,400ft before briefly regaining around 1,200ft in altitude, then began diving again.

It stopped transmitting data 96 seconds after starting to dive.

Deliberate action by the pilot to crash has been included in the hypothesised causes of the crash. 

Other possible causes include pilot error, or technical issues such as a structural failure or mid-air collision.

Mr Tao added that investigators are facing a very difficult task in identifying what caused the crash. 

He said: “The jet was seriously damaged during the crash, and investigations will face a very high level of difficulty.”