The San Mateo (California) County coroner, Robert Foucrault, is investigating the possibility that a teenage passenger aboard Asiana 214 might have survived the crash but been killed by an emergency vehicle rushing to the scene. Two 16-year-old Chinese girls were the only fatalities in Saturday’s crash landing of the Boeing 777 at San Francisco International Airport.
Rescuers rushed 182 passengers to area hospitals, with 49 reported in serious condition, but none with life-threatening injuries. There were a total of 291 passengers and 16 crewmembers on board the 7-year-old Boeing.
The girls’ bodies were found outside the airplane, and one of them had injuries “consistent with being run over,” according to authorities. NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said the board is reviewing airport surveillance video. Foucrault said he would need at least two weeks to complete his review into the cause of the teen’s death.
Authorities have not revealed which of the two girls, Wang Linjia or Ye Mengyuan, is the subject of the coroner’s investigation. The two were close friends, and were seated in the rear section of the airliner. They were part of a group on their way to a summer camp, and are being mourned as good students with promising futures.
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