February 24, 1999
Web posted at: 7:31 a.m. EST (1231 GMT)

BEIJING (CNN) -- A Chinese airliner with more than 60 people aboard crashed in eastern China during a domestic flight Wednesday, airport officials said.

Initial reports said that 64 people were killed in the crash. There were unconfirmed reports of a mid-air explosion prior to the crash.

Airport officials said the Russian-built Tupolev came down at Ruian, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Wenzhou airport in eastern Zhejiang province.

It had taken off from the city of Chengdu in the southwestern province of Sichuan, airport officials in Wenzhou said.

They said airport officials had been sent to the crash site some 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) from Beijing, but no further details were immediately available.

Reuters contributed to this report.