Asiana Airlines Crash at SFO: 2 Dead, 182 Hospitalized in San Francisco
Two people have died and dozens of others injured after a Boeing 777 aircraft traveling from Seoul, South Korea crash landed at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday.
Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crash landed at about 11.30 a.m. PST (2.30 p.m. ET), bursting into flames, shedding its tail and spinning before finally coming to a stop. An Asiana Airlines spokesperson has confirmed that in total 291 passengers and 16 flight crew were onboard, and by Saturday evening at least two people have been confirmed dead.
The two victims were reportedly found on the ground and not on the plane, according to San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White, with one described as a Chinese national. However, the second victim's nationality has not yet been publicly identified.
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There was panic on Saturday afternoon when reports stated that more than 60 people were still unaccounted for, sparking fears that dozens had been killed. However, by early evening on Saturday, authorities confirmed that all passengers had been accounted for.
In the aftermath of the accident numbers have been constantly changing, but by Saturday night authorities were reporting that a total of two were confirmed dead, and 182 others had been hospitalized with injuries varying from critical and serious to minor. Those injured were taken to a total of nine Bay Area hospitals. In addition, 123 other uninjured people from the crash were still in the airport terminals Saturday night.
One passenger, Elliott Stone, spoke to CNN, describing how the plane had approached its landing "a little high {but then came} down a little sharp."
Stone then explained, "All of a sudden, boom, the back end just hit and flies up into the air and everyone's head goes up the ceiling."
Many passengers were seen in the aftermath of the crash jumping down evacuation slides on the side of the plane. However, Stone and many others described how they were forced to jump from the plane without the aid of stairs or an evacuation slide as the plane burned up behind them.
Eyewitnesses have described seeing a huge fireball rise in the air as the plane crash landed, and the aircraft was soon engulfed in flames with plumes of dark gray smoke billowing from the top.
The tail of the plane seemingly smashed into numerous pieces during the landing, with the landing gear also found in the area behind where the plane finally came to a stop.
Video footage of the aircraft showed the top almost completely burnt out from the explosion and fire, and the plane was seen on its belly, with landing gear completely wiped out.
Fire trucks and other emergency vehicles were quickly dispatched to the scene as authorities immediately knew something had gone terribly wrong.
Passengers have been praised for their fast action, and efficiently evacuating the plane; many had already cleared the aircraft in the few minutes it took for first responders to reach the plane.
According to Asiana Airlines, 141 of the passengers on the flight were Chinese, 77 were South Korean and 61 were American.
National Security officials were quick to explain that there were no apparent signs of terrorism playing any part in the crash, and by Saturday night investigators were still looking into what may have caused the crash.
Here is video footage of the aftermath of the Asiana Airlines crash at SFO:
