3rd Chinese girl aboard Asiana dies

National

Source: Agencies??|?? 2013-7-14??|?? ??NEWSPAPER EDITION

---

Chinese students from the Asiana Airlines Flight 214 that crashed at San Francisco arrive back in Beijing yesterday. They will travel by train to Zhejiang Province today.

More in photo gallery

---

A CHINESE girl died in a San Francisco hospital on Friday, becoming the third fatality in the crash of an Asiana Airlines jet at the city's airport last Saturday, doctors and Chinese officials said.

Meanwhile, authorities confirmed that a fire truck ran over one of the other victims.

The girl was identified as Liu Yipeng last night by Chinese media. She went to school in the city of Jiangshan in Zhejiang Province with the other two girls killed in the crash. They were all 16 years old.

On Chinese social media sites, friends and strangers have left condolences and lit virtual candles on what is believed to be her microblog.

The third death was confirmed after San Francisco police said that one teenager who died on July 6 when Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed while landing at San Francisco International Airport "had been run over at least one time by a fire truck."

Police spokesman Albie Esparza said it is not yet clear whether the teen was already dead.

The police investigation concluded that the accident occurred because firefighters had sprayed the ground with flame retardant foam, Esparza explained.

"It's believed that the victim was on the ground, covered, and not seen by anybody," he added.

"So when the fire truck moved to reposition itself ... the body of the victim was discovered lying in the track of the fire truck."

Authorities are still conducting an autopsy, Esparza added.

Critical condition

Some 180 people were injured in the crash. Of these two adults remain in a critical condition, San Francisco General Hospital said.

According to preliminary findings from a US transport safety agency probe, the plane was flying too low and too slowly as it approached the runway.

The tail of the aircraft broke off as the plane clipped a seawall.

The airplane pilot, 46-year-old Lee Kang-kuk, was an experienced aviator but was undergoing his first major training on the Boeing 777, and it was his co-pilot's first time working as instructor.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has said analysis of cockpit voice recorders showed the pilots made no mention of the too-slow speed during the plane's approach until it was 100 feet from the ground.

The NTSB had previously revealed the plane's speed dipped to 103 knots three seconds before the crash - below the target landing speed of 137 knots at the threshold of the runway.

Asiana Flight 214, from Shanghai, with a stop in Seoul, had 307 people on board, including 16 crew members.

---

Source: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/National/2013/07/14/3rd+Chinese+girl+aboard+Asiana+dies

Emmy nominations 2012 Ramadan 2012 Michelle Jenneke batman Colorado Shooting News joe paterno British Open