Firefighters surround the ruined Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 on the runway at San Francisco International Airport after crash landing on Saturday. Video footage showed the jet, Flight 214 from Seoul, on its belly. Photo: AFP

Yoon Young-doo, CEO of Asiana Airlines, offers apologies at a press conference on Sunday. Photo: CFP

For more, see Daily Special(s): Asiana crash landing leaves two dead


 

Two Chinese teenagers were confirmed dead and 182 people were injured when flight 214 of Asiana Airlines, a Boeing 777 passenger plane, crashed while landing at the San Francisco International Airport at 11:28 am, local time, on Saturday.

Authorities are still confirming the safety of passengers, and the treatment for the injured. An investigation into the cause of the crash is still underway.

The two female victims, Ye Mengyuan, 16, and Wang Linjia, 17, were sitting near the rear end of the plane. One passenger is still missing, according to Asiana Airlines.

More than 90 passengers departed Shanghai on Asiana Airlines Flight OZ362 to Seoul, and then transferred to Flight 214 to San Francisco on Saturday, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

It was carrying 291 passengers and 16 crew members, including 141 Chinese citizens, according to a spokesperson from the San Francisco airport.

By 7 pm Beijing time Sunday, 78 of  the Chinese passengers were confirmed safe, according to a statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The crash tore the tail off the jet and ignited a fire, with parts spreading over the runway. Authorities have ruled out a terrorist attack as the cause of the crash, and the investigation has been turned over to the FBI, San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White told the press. 

Witnesses said that the plane made a loud screeching sound at the San Francisco airport before coming to a stop. The Boeing 777-200 then veered off the runway with thick smoke coming from the craft. It eventually came to a stop at an area between two runways, with its tail and left engine gone, and parts of the roof of the plane missing, according to the Xinhua news agency.

"I was sitting in the back of the plane, and could feel that it was coming in quite low while landing. It fell down a little bit before accelerating into the sky. Then I heard a loud sound behind me, and oxygen masks fell down," Chinese passenger Xu Da told the Global Times on Sunday, adding that he smelled something burning and saw fire.

"Most of the kitchen in the back area had disappeared, and there was a huge hole there. My wife and I ran through it with our child, all of us had minor bruises," Xu said. Many passengers were reported to have escaped by sliding down the emergency inflatable slides.

The two victims were found dead outside the wreckage, and 182 people were sent to local hospitals, many with minor injuries. Forty-nine people were seriously injured, San Francisco International Airport spokesman Doug Yakel said at a press conference.

It has been confirmed that two student summer camps, including 59 Chinese students and 10 teachers were on the plane.

Chinese president Xi Jinping mourned for the victims of the accident and has expressed his condolences. Xi vowed to continue communication between China, the US and South Korea to properly deal with the damage and aftermath of the accident, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement released on Sunday.

"We don't know exactly how this accident happened, we are also waiting for the inspection results from the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States," Kiwon Suh from the Public Relations department of Asiana Airlines, told the Global Times.

Asiana Airlines said they won't be able to explain the crash until they find the black box. There were three experienced pilots on board and initial investigations showed no technical defects or engine problems on the plane. 

Long regarded as one of the safest commercial passenger planes, the Boeing 777 is the world's largest long-range twin-engine aircraft, and can accommodate 246 to 300 passengers.

"The main reason for the crash may have been its landing gears, which might not have deployed properly. There are three gears on Boeing 777, with two at the rear and one in the front. The two gears at the rear might not have landed properly," Jiao Guoli, a military specialist, told China Central Television.