Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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                      China Mourns Victims of Plane Crash

   by VOA News

   News of Saturday's crash of Asiana Flight 214 at the San Francisco
   International Airport was the top story in China on Monday, with
   details on the two Chinese schoolmates killed in the crash and
   questions about the causes of the wreck.
   Ye Mengyuan, 16, and Wang Linjia, 17, had boarded on the plane in
   Shanghai as part of a group of 34 students and teachers from a high
   school in Zhejiang province. They were heading to a summer camp
   organized by the school to visit universities in the United States,
   Chinese media reported.
   The two schoolmates were sitting near the tail section of the plane
   that broke off, and their bodies were found outside the plane wreckage.
   Exact circumstances of deaths remain unclear
   ''The exact circumstances of their deaths are still under
   investigation. U.S. media reported that an autopsy was scheduled for
   Monday to determine whether one of the two victims died as a result of
   the plane crash, or was run over by rescue vehicles as they approached
   the scene.
   When asked whether the Chinese government would request an
   investigation on the circumstances of the teenagers' death, the
   spokeswoman from China's Foreign Ministry said that her office was
   still trying to verify the situation, but added that China's President
   Xi Jinping was deeply concerned about the casualties.
   "In compliance with Xi Jinping's directives, the Foreign Ministry as
   well as diplomatic missions in the United States and in South Korea
   will provide assistance, arrange placement and deal with the aftermath
   of the accident," said Hua Chunying.
   Many students looking to study abroad
   The Beijing News described Ye as a "multi-talented" student. She was
   the school representative for English language class and Physical
   Education, she excelled at playing piano as well as dancing Latin
   music.
   Local media reported that Wang had been class monitor for three years,
   and she was active in her school's radio and television station.
   In recent years, an increasing number of Chinese students have chosen
   to go abroad for higher education. American schools are among the most
   popular destinations for many who are eager to avoid the "gaokao," the
   very rigorous test for access to Chinese Universities.
   Local news reports said that the group from Zhejiang's Jiangshan High
   School planned to visit Silicon Valley, Stanford University and
   University of California's campuses in Los Angeles and Berkeley.
   Instructor Yu Yinfeng has been helping Chinese students prepare for
   universities abroad for six years. He says that summer courses and
   university scouting has become a very common occurrence for students
   interested in applying to universities outside of China.
   "More and more students are trying to attend some summer schools, or
   some courses during the summer," he says, "At the same time they do it
   also for school trip, they can attend the universities they'd like to
   apply to."
   It is unclear whether Ye and Wang planned on applying to school in the
   United States, but Yu says that based on the reports on their many
   academic achievements the two are representative of the kinds of
   students who pursue academic study abroad.
   Crash investigation
   Authorities in the United States announced that they have begun a full
   investigation into the crash, which happened as the aircraft was
   landing at San Francisco International Airport.
   So far there is no indication of mechanical failure. Eye witnesses said
   that the plane was flying at an unusually low altitude and that it
   tilted unnaturally just before the crash.
   Choi Jung-ho, head of South Korean's Transport Ministry's aviation
   policy bureau, said on Monday that the flight's co-pilot - Lee Kang Kuk
   - was transitioning from flying other types of Boeing and had 43 hours'
   experience flying Boeing 777.
   Online, most messages in China about the accident mourned the death of
   the two teenagers, but many users expressed anger, suggesting that the
   co-pilot was under qualified for the job.
   "To have a pilot in training fly a plane is like having a doctor in
   training do a surgery," one user called Goodbye_Lullaby2010 wrote on
   her microblog account. "They just play with people's lives."
   Asiana Airlines, which operated the flight, is the second largest
   carrier in South Korea. Its CEO, Yoon Young-doo apologized to the
   families on Sunday.
   The plane carried 291 passengers and 16 crew members. A total of 182
   people were injured, dozens of them were in serious conditions.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/china-mourns-victims-of-plane-crash/1697039.html