Two dead, dozens hurt in SFO crash landing

Two people were killed and dozens hurt when an Asiana Airlines flight crash landed at San Francisco International Airport at 11:27 a.m. Saturday.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Lynn Lunsford says Asiana Flight 214 —  a Boeing 777 — arriving from Seoul, South Korea crashed while landing.

Witnesses say the tail of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 appeared to come off the plane as it touched the runway, with overhead images showing what appeared to be a debris trail beginning at the water’s edge.

Planes landing at SFO often fly low over San Francisco Bay before landing on runways that begin just yards from the water.

San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White confirmed Flight 214 was carrying 291 passengers and 16 crew, having originated in Shanghai with a stop in Seoul. 48 people were immediately taken to area hospitals, with another 82 transported for care after being transported back to the airport terminal.

Officials had earlier said 60 passengers “unaccounted for” after the crash, but reduced that number to one following an early evening press briefing.

The conditions of all those hospitalized were not yet known, but San Francisco General Hospital tweeted that ten people — eight adults and two children — were in critical condition there and that the hospital was expecting more patients from the crash.

Passengers and their families were reunited in the Reflection Room at SFO’s international terminal, said Dominic Yin, acting captain of the SFPD traffic division, airport bureau. The Salvation Army and Red Cross are also on hand to support victims.

After the crash, video shot from a distance showed thick, black smoke billowing from the plane, while live video images shot later from a helicopter above the scene showed the plane — with the roof of its fuselage burned —  sitting in a grassy area off of a runway covered in foam, with dozens of firefighters and their equipment at the scene.

Witnesses reported seeing dozens of ambulances entering and leaving the airport after the crash.

By late afternoon Saturday, San Francisco International had reopened two runways for air traffic. Airport officials advise calling your airline to check on any flights to or from SFO today.

The National Transit Safety Board is sending their “go team” crash response unit to SFO, led by NTSB chairwoman Deborah Hersman.

SFBay staff Victoria Nguyen, Sean Reichhold, Mike Hendrickson and Jesse Garnier contributed to this story.