A Chinese aviation official said on Wednesday that one of the "black box" recorders was found in a severely damaged state, two days after a China Eastern plane crashed in southern China carrying 132 people.

For his part, Mao Yan Feng, director of the accident investigation department at the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said the device was so damaged that investigators could not determine whether it was the flight data recorder or the cockpit voice recorder.

He added at a press conference that comprehensive efforts are being made to find the other black box.

Finding what is called the black boxes – usually painted orange for visibility – is considered key to understanding the cause of the crash. It is not yet clear if the damage to the box will limit its usefulness.

Searches for clues about the cause of the crash of a Chinese commercial plane on a mountain in southern China were suspended earlier on Wednesday.

Researchers were using handheld tools, drones, and police dogs in rainy conditions to comb the slopes of dense forests searching for flight data and cockpit voice recorders, as well as any human remains. The crew also worked to pump water from the pit created when the plane hit the ground, but their efforts were suspended at midday because minor landslides were possible on the steep slopes.

The black box was found in the afternoon. The flight data recorder captures information about the plane’s speed, altitude, pitch, pilot actions, and performance of all major systems. The cockpit voice recorder captures sounds including conversations and engine noise in the background during the flight.

Relatives of passengers started arriving on Wednesday on the outskirts of (Lu) village just outside the crash area, where they were stopped by police at the scene and umbrellas were used to block visibility behind them.

A woman’s voice was heard saying her husband, the father of their two children, was on the plane.

Another man, who gave only his family name, Deng, said his wife’s sister was on the plane. He said he hoped to visit the site but authorities have not told him much.

China Eastern flight 5735 was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew from Kunming in Yunnan province to Guangzhou, an industrial