2 Chinese teens die in air crash

DEAD & SURVIVORS | Two Chinese teenagers die in crash. More than 180 others injured, 49 seriously.

CAUSE | Witness says plane was coming in too low and clipped sea wall, causing the tail to fall off.

Asiana officials say 'there were no problems caused by the 777-200 plane or (its) engines'.

Two high-school girls from eastern China's Zhejiang province died in the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 on Saturday as the Boeing 777 made its approach to San Francisco International Airport, the Chinese consulate confirmed.

Ye Mengyuan, 16, and Wang Linjia, 17, students at Jiangshan Middle School in Zhejiang are the only fatalities from the crash, which injured 182 other people, some critically. The girls were on their way to a two-week summer camp in the Bay Area.

On Sunday, officials with Asiana's head office in China confirmed the victims' identities to the Jiangshan municipal government, based on boarding-pass information. Both girls had been sitting in the rear section of the wide-body jetliner; their bodies were found outside the wreckage after the tail section was ripped off in the crash, according to Asiana and accident investigators.

The consulate in San Francisco was still awaiting results of DNA tests of the victims, Consul General Yuan Nansheng said at a news conference on Sunday. "We are preparing for the arrival of the victims' families in San Francisco," Yuan said, adding that officials from both countries had arranged to help the parents travel to the US through diplomatic channels.

In Zhejiang, Wang's parents were devastated at the news, local media reported. Zhejiang Daily described Wang as a student with good grades. Her father told the newspaper's online edition that he had been "worried to death" about his daughter on her trip.Flight 214 was carrying 307 people, 291 passengers and 16 crew members, when it crashed late Saturday morning.

There were 141 Chinese passengers - students, businesspeople and tourists - on board, including 70 students and teachers from Zhejiang and Shanxi provinces.

Of the 182 injured, at least six remained in critical condition on Sunday night. In all, 108 Chinese passengers were confirmed as safe, said Yuan. Most of the 30 who were injured, he said, were being treated at San Francisco General Hospital but weren't in critical condition except for one Chinese teenager with a serious spinal injury.

Yuan said China appreciated US authorities' quick response to the crash, which came during the Fourth of July holiday. He said San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and representatives from the Republic of Korea's consulate began communicating with him about the Chinese passengers on board immediately after the incident.

Emphasizing that the government is highly concerned about the Chinese passengers aboard, President Xi Jinping asked the Chinese Embassy in Washington to cooperate with authorities and respond quickly. Cui Tiankai, China's ambassador to the US, talked to Wendy Sherman, US undersecretary of state for political affairs, just hours after the crash, asking the US to provide details and status updates on Chinese passengers.

On Sunday afternoon, Yuan visited Crowne Plaza Hotel near the San Francisco airport, where the group of students and teachers from Shanxi were staying.

"One who survives a great disaster is destined to good fortune forever after," the consul general said as he met with the 17 students from Shanxi.

A teacher with the surname Zhang told reporters that the group appreciated the consulate's swift response and help. Zhang said part of the group would stay on to take the summer program as planned while others would return to China at their parents' request.

Yuan said the consulate has sent a visa officer to the hotel to help speed the preparation of new travel documents for the students. More than 40 passengers who lost their passports and travel documents during the accident applied for new ones with the Chinese consulate on Sunday, Yuan said.

Also on Sunday, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a native of the Republic of Korea, sent condolences to the Chinese families who lost their loved ones, and to others injured and affected by the crash.

Contact the writers through zhangqidong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 07/08/2013 page1)