BEIJING, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese National Immigration Administration has activated an emergency mechanism, following the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane that killed 157 people, including eight Chinese on Sunday.

The administration promptly assisted in verifying and confirming the identities of the eight Chinese passengers and ordered local immigration and entry-exit departments in Beijing, Liaoning and Zhejiang to offer help for the families of the victims to go through customs procedures.

Currently, passports have been issued to 12 family members of the eight victims in an urgent manner, said the administration.