Advertisement

Asiana passenger run over by rescuers was covered in foam

Share

A teenager killed in the San Francisco plane crash a week ago was covered in fire retardant foam when a rescue vehicle ran over her, officials said.

This detail comes as a third person on Asiana Airlines Flight 214 died Friday morning. This person was not immediately identified.

Officials identified the two other victims as Ye Mengyuan and Wang Linjia, both part of a group of Chinese high school students on their way to West Valley Christian Church and School in the San Fernando Valley for a three-week summer camp.

Advertisement

Authorities believe Wang — whose body was found a considerable distance away from the main site of the wreckage — was ejected from the jet when it first hit the ground and its tail was severed. Three flight attendants were also thrown from the plane and suffered serious injuries.

Ye’s body was found close to the aircraft’s left wing. San Francisco police confirmed Friday that a fire truck responding to the incident hit her, but stressed that the San Mateo County coroner had yet to determine her cause of death.

Gordon Shyy, public information officer for the San Francisco Police Department, said the girl was outside the jet and covered in fire retardant foam when the fire truck “went over her.”

San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White said this week that fire officials immediately notified police — as well as the FBI and National Transportation Safety Board — when they learned Ye might have been struck. The drivers of all five trucks at the scene tested negative for drugs and alcohol, she added.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

As for the latest victim, San Francisco General Hospital officials released little detail, saying only that the girl had been listed in critical condition.

“Her parents have asked that we reveal no further information at this time,” a hospital statement said. “We will respect their wishes while they grieve.”

Advertisement

Coroner’s officials in San Francisco and San Mateo counties could not be reached Friday for more information.

The bodies of the two other deceased victims, both 16-year-old girls, were recovered soon after the Boeing 777 clipped a seawall and slammed into a runway at San Francisco International Airport July 6.

More than 180 people were hurt in the crash, officials said, with injuries including broken bones, road rash, spinal cord injuries and internal bleeding. San Francisco General Hospital, which treated 67 patients, said Friday afternoon that six remained hospitalized, including two adults in critical condition. Stanford Hospital, which saw 55 people, said Friday that its final patient was listed in serious condition.

The NTSB is continuing its inquiry into the Asiana crash, which is expected to take months to complete.

kate.mather@latimes.com

Advertisement