San Francisco plane crash victims identified as two teenagers from China

The two young victims of the San Francisco air crash were identified

Sunday as those who survived spoke of a "miraculous" escape as the

Boeing 777 hit the runway.



A representative of Asiana Airlines confirmed that 16-year-olds Ye

Meng Yuan and Wang Lin Jia died as a result of the impact. Both were

students and Chinese nationals.



Meanwhile other passengers – some still being treated for injuries in

hospital – continued to tell of their escape from the wreckage after

the aircraft's tail broke off and fire began to take hold.



In all, 180 people were injured in the crash. But many have expressed

surprise at the low death count, given the state of the plane after

the impact.

"It's miraculous we survived," said Vedpal Singh, who was seated in

the middle of the aircraft with his family.



He told of how passengers were given no forewarning from the pilot or

crew members before the moment of impact on the runway. After the

plane came to a rest, people tried to get out anyway they could, Singh

said.



His 15-year-old son spoke of luggage tumbling from overhead

compartments as people tried to make their way to the exits. Pictures

taken in the aftermath of the crash showed that the planes emergency

chutes were deployed to help survivors get to safety.



David Eun, a Samsung executive travelling on the plane posted a photo

of fellow passengers leaving the wreckage. Some appeared to have found

time to take their luggage from the plane.

But others spoke of moments of panic as people scrambled to escape.



"Everyone was screaming. I was trying to usher them out," said

passenger Benjamin Levy, who had been seated in an emergency row.



Onlookers described how the plane wobbled on hitting the runway before

losing control.



A plane-spotter, Anthony Castorani, told CNN he heard a "pop" as the

jet landed, followed by a brief fireball at which point the aircraft

began to break up and spin. Castorani, who was watching aircraft land

from a nearby hotel room, said there was no indication that the

airport was prepared for an emergency landing.



"It was coming in very nicely," he told CNN. But as it landed he

witnessed a larger plume of smoke from the landing gear than is

usually seen. After a "pop" he saw a brief fire take hold at which

point the plane's tail became detached.



Ki Siadatan lives near to the San Francisco International Airport and

watched the drama unfold from his balcony.



"My initial reaction was I don't see how anyone could have made it."



But of the 307 people on board the flight from Seoul, all but two

survived. Scores, however, remain in hospital, with some in a critical

condition.



The two passengers who died were found on the "exterior" of the plane,

according to San Francisco fire department chief Joanne Hayes-White.



"Having surveyed that area, we're lucky that there hasn't been a

greater loss, she added.

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