The death toll in the San Francisco Asiana jet crash went up to three as a Chinese girl hospitalized after the accident died of injuries Friday.
The Chinese student was rushed to hospital in a critical state and died of severe injuries inflicted in the accident, according to a statement from the San Francisco General Hospital.
The unnamed student sustained injuries in the head and abdomen. The student underwent two surgeries at the hospital, according to the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco.
All the three diseased in the accident were Chinese students who were onboard for an education trip to California to practice their English. Thirty-one members of the student-group immediately canceled their English-learning program in California and headed back to China while the rest of the students decided to continue their planned trip despite the traumatic jet crash experience.
Lee Kang-kuk, the pilot who was making his first landing at the airport, Saturday blamed a sharp light for the plane crash. He said the light blinded him. From among the 291 passengers on board, 180 were hospitalized for various injuries.
Out of the 291 passengers, 141 were Chinese, reported China's State News Agency Xinhua.
Following the jet crash, the Asiana Airlines Inc's chief executive Tuesday vowed to regularize the process of issuing license to the pilots.
"This accident made us rethink our regulations policy," said a South Korean government official dealing with aviation regulations, according to Reuters.
"We are already reviewing various measures and gathering information to tighten regulations (on issuing type certification to pilots converting to a new aircraft)," said the official.
