SAN FRANCISCO

Fire truck may have struck, killed Asiana crash survivor

A girl who was aboard the Asiana Airlines flight that crash-landed died Friday, the same day that authorities confirmed one of the two Chinese teenagers killed in the disaster was hit by a fire truck.

The disclosure about the teen raised the tragic possibility that she could have survived the crash only to die in its chaotic aftermath.

No one knows yet whether the two teens lived through the initial impact at the San Francisco airport. But police and fire officials confirmed Friday that Ye Meng Yuan, 16, was hit by a fire truck racing to extinguish the blazing Boeing 777.

Her close friend Wang Linjia, also 16, was among a group of passengers who did not get immediate medical help. Rescuers did not spot her until 14 minutes after the crash.

The other girl died Friday morning. San Francisco General Hospital said she had been in critical condition since arriving Saturday after the accident.

Officials did not identify the girl at the request of her parents.

BRETIGNY-SUR-ORGE, France

At least six die in train derailment south of Paris

A train carrying hundreds of passengers derailed and crashed into a station outside Paris on Friday on one of the busiest days of the year for vacation getaways. At least six people were killed and dozens were injured, officials said.

The crash was the deadliest in France in several years. French President Francois Hollande rushed to the scene at the Bretigny-sur-Orge station, 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Paris. The Interior Ministry said some 192 people were either injured or being treated for shock – of which nine were in a critical condition.

Four of the seven train cars slid toward the station, crushing part of the metallic roof over the platform. Images on French television and on Twitter showed gnarled metal and shards on the platform, and debris from the crash clogging the stairwell leading beneath the platform.

Some 300 firefighters, 20 medical teams and eight helicopters were deployed to get survivors out of the metal wreckage, according to the Interior Ministry.

The accident came as France is preparing to celebrate its most important national holiday, Bastille Day, on Sunday, and as masses of vacationers are heading out of Paris and other big cities to see family or for summer vacation.

UNIONTOWN, Pa.

Penn State may soon pay sex-abuse settlements

Penn State could soon be paying out millions of dollars to victims of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky after disclosing Friday it had tentative agreements with some of the young men who say he sexually abused them.

The school does not plan to comment on specifics until the deals are made final. University president Rodney Erickson called getting approval for settlement offers “another important step toward the resolution of claims from Sandusky’s victims.” Sandusky, 69, was convicted of 45 counts of child sexual abuse.

— From news service reports

 

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