UN chief expresses sorrow at air crash victims

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday sent his condolences and sympathy to the Chinese families who lost their loved ones, of those injured and affected by the air crash in San Francisco.

Asiana Airlines Flight 214, a Boeing 777 jetliner, carried 307 people -- 291 passengers, including 141 Chinese, and 16 crew members -- when it crash landed on Saturday morning in San Francisco International Airport.

The flight originated in Shanghai and left Seoul for San Francisco.

Ban, a South Korean diplomat, said in a statement issued by his spokesperson that he was saddened by the accident.

Ban said he conveys his sympathy to the government and people of China and families of the victims.

Two victims are female Chinese middle school students from Jiangshang city, East China's Zhejiang province, based on their boarding pass information, according to a reply from Asiana Airlines' head office in china to the Jiangshan municipal government.

Joanne Hayes-White, fire chief of the San Francisco Fire Department, said 182 people were injured and 123 were unhurt.