Yesterday morning, a Boeing 777 plane from Asiana Airlines crashed at San Francisco International Airport, killing two people and sending over 180 injured passengers to nine area hospitals. Flight 214 was traveling from Seoul with over 300 aboard when it lost its tail following a hard landing and burst into flames.
As of last night, San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White was unable to provide the names and ages of the victims. According to NBC News, they have been identified as Ye Mengtuan and Wang Linjia, both 16. At least five of the 181 injured were reportedly in critical condition. Several passengers were able to escape the burning plane via its inflatable emergency slides. An airport spokesman said that 49 people were in serious condition and another 132 suffered less severe injuries.
Witnesses reported seeing the plane swaying prior to its landing. Passenger Vedpal Singh told the Huffington Post that neither the pilot nor any of the crew warned passengers prior to the rough landing. "We knew something was horrible wrong," Singh said. He suffered a fractured collarbone in the crash.
An investigation has been turned over the FBI and the possibility of terrorism or foul play have been ruled out. The crash closed the airport for several hours, and only two of its four runways were operating when it reopened.
[via The Huffington Post and NBC News]
