Third victim dies from Asiana crash; runway reopens

Bart Jansen and Michael Winter | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption SF Hospital: Third plane crash victim dies A girl who was aboard the Asiana Airlines flight that crash-landed died Friday. San Francisco General Hospital said she had been in critical condition since arriving Saturday after the accident. Officials did not identify the girl. (July 12)

Her family does not want her identity revealed

Authorities also still not clear whether firetruck killed a 16-year-old girl

Runway reopens after wreckage removed%2C repairs completed

A third child has died from the Asiana Airlines crash at San Francisco International Airport, hospital officials announced Friday afternoon.

San Francisco General Hospital officials said that the victim, a girl, died of her injuries Friday morning.

Her parents asked that the hospital not reveal her identity or the nature of her injuries, said hospital spokeswoman Rachel Kagen.

She had been one of three patients in critical condition at the hospital. They suffered spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, abdominal injuries and internal bleeding.

Two adults remain in critical condition. The conditions of four others, including a girl, range from serious to fair to good.

The hospital treated and discharged 59 others injured in the crash last Saturday morning.

Friday evening, the airport announced that Runway 28L had reopened. The wreckage of Flight 214 was hauled away before dawn, and repairs and cleanup were completed "safely and expeditiously," the airport said in a statement.

The runway reopened at 5:05 p.m. PT (8:05 p.m. ET). A Southwest Airlines flight was the first to land.

Earlier Friday, police confirmed that one of two Chinese teens killed was run over by a firetruck that responded to the emergency.

It's not yet clear whether the victim, 16-year-old Ye Meng Yuan, was already dead from injuries in the crash when she was struck by the truck, police said.

"We are confirming that at least one time, a firetruck went over a victim," said San Francisco Police Officer Albie Esparza, a police spokesman.

Yuan and Wang Linjia, also 16, were ejected from the Boeing 777 after it struck the airport's sea wall upon landing Saturday. National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman had said the initial review of video of the rescue efforts was inconclusive in determining whether a victim was run over.

The cause of the crash, which injured 181 of 307 passengers and crew, remains under investigation.

San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault plans to release autopsy results within two weeks. The coroner's office didn't immediately reply to a request for comment Friday.

Wang Linjia and Ye Mengyuan were part of a larger Chinese contingent who were traveling on the flight for a three-week summer camp near Los Angeles.

Esparza said two large airport firetrucks initially responded to the crash and began spraying the fuselage with flame-retardant foam. The area around the plane became covered in foam, and when firetrucks moved to continue fighting the fire, the victim, covered in foam, was run over, Esparza said.

"It led us to believe the victim passenger was on the ground and subsequently covered by this foam and therefore not visible," Esparza said. "When at least one firetruck repositioned itself, to continue fighting the fire, at that time it was discovered, the victim was discovered in the tire track."

He couldn't say what view the driver might have had of the victim.

"The investigation is ongoing," Esparza said.

Starting at 3:30 a.m. PT, crews removed the burned and shattered fuselage of Flight 214 from Runway 28L, which had been closed since the crash. The wreckage was cut in half and hauled away on flatbed trucks to a remote section of the airport for temporary storage. The fuselage will be moved to a permanent location away from the airport within two weeks, the airport said.

Crews repaired the runway and the sea wall the jetliner hit while landing, and also cleared away debris and spilled fuel and fluids.

Before the runway reopened, the Federal Aviation Administration had to first fix navigational lights, perform flight checks and re-certify that the tarmac was safe.

Contributing: The Associated Press







