Boeing stock drops after 737-800 crashes in China with 132 on board

• Boeing shares fell Monday following the crash of a Boeing 737-800 plane run by China Eastern Airlines.
• There was no immediate confirmation about whether there were any survivors.

Shares of Boeing dropped Monday following reports that a Boeing 737-800 airplane operated by China Eastern Airlines crashed in southern China with 132 people on board.

There was no immediate information on whether there were any survivors from the flight. The crash was confirmed by China Eastern and the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Boeing stock fell as much as 9% premarket to $175.36 in heavy volume of more than 1 million shares exchanged. The stock pared losses at the open, with shares down about 5%.

The stock this year through Friday's session had lost slightly more than 4%.

Flight MU5735 was headed to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport after departing from Kunming Changshui International Airport at 1:11 p.m. local time. The flight was carrying 123 passengers and 9 crew members.

The plane crashed in the southern province of Guangxi. Footage from the scene showed a large fire at the crash site, according to the South China Morning Post newspaper.

NYSE-listed shares of China Eastern Airlines also fell early Monday. They declined as much as 18% before paring the loss to 12%.

Boeing's 737 Max passenger plane model was grounded worldwide following two separate deadly crashes - Lion Air Flight 610 in the Java Sea on October 29, 2018, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on March 10, 2019. The model began returning to service in 2021, with China expected to clear its return in 2022, according to Reuters.