WUZHOU, March 22 — Investigations into the China Eastern Airlines  crash face a "very high level” of difficulty due to the severe damage to the aircraft, an official from China’s aviation regulator said today.

Based on the current information available, authorities do not have a clear assessment of the cause of yesterday’s crash, Zhu Tao, director of aviation safety at the Civil Aviation Administration of China, told reporters at the first government briefing on the disaster. — Reuters