Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's No. 2 flag carrier, said Sunday that it will dispatch a group of personnel to handle the aftermath of a crash landing of its
passenger jet in the United States.
An Asiana Airlines flight from Seoul crashed and caught fire while landing at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday, killing at least two people and injuring dozens of others.
The Boeing 777 plane, which departed from Incheon International Airport west of Seoul, was carrying 291 passengers and 16 crew members, according to the airline.
Seventy-seven South Koreans, 141 Chinese and 61 Americans were on board with the nationality of the remainder not confirmed yet.
South Korea's transportation ministry also said its investigation team will head to the U.S. later in the day to work with its U.S. counterpart.
The U.S.'s National Transportation Safety Board team, Seoul's transportation ministry, Asiana Airlines and Boeing are expected to conduct a joint investigation into the crash landing, ministry officials said.
"We are working hard to deal with the aftermath of the accident," said a company official. "We feel very sorry for the accident."
Saturday's accident involving Asiana Airlines marks the second time in the company's history that one of its passenger jets was involved in a major accident. The last accident occurred in 1993 when a B737-500 crashed while trying to land at Mokpo airport, 410 kilometers south of Seoul. Two crew members and 66 passengers of the 110 on board were killed.
According to local insurance industry sources, Asiana Airlines carries about US$99.5 million in insurance coverage on the Boeing 777 plane, and $3 million in crew liability coverage. But insurance coverage on passengers was not immediately revealed.
Ten South Korean insurers share about 6 percent of insurance coverage for the plane, with the remaining undertaken by foreign reinsurers, the sources said. (Yonhap News)
