China Passenger Plane Crashes into Mountain with 132 Onboard, Sparks

UP IN FLAMES

New video shows the moment a Chinese passenger plane crashed into a mountainside, causing a huge forest fire ... and 132 are feared dead.

The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 was heading from Kunming to Guangzhou Monday when it lost contact with air traffic control -- and the horrifying footage shows the plane taking a nosedive into a mountainous area. Fire and smoke immediately started billowing from the crash site.

Surveillance data shows the plane plummeted for a total of 2 minutes ... after maintaining a cruising altitude of 29,000 feet. The pilots briefly pulled out of the dive around 10,000 feet, but then it started going down again -- and the last data contact with the plane was at 3,200 feet.

The airline released a statement, saying "China Eastern Airlines has activated the emergency mechanism, dispatched a working group to the scene, and opened a special line for emergency assistance to family members."

Shortly after the crash, Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered a search and rescue operation, alongside an investigation into the cause of the accident.