Jet crash-lands at San Francisco airport

A Boeing 777 aircraft has crash-
landed at San Francisco international
airport.
There is no word so far on casualties.
Pictures posted on Twitter showed
passengers jumping down the inflatable
emergency slides and leaving the area,
as plumes of smoke rise from the plane.
Firefighters and rescue teams are at the
scene of the downed Asiana Airlines
Flight 214. The cause of the emergency
is not known.
The aircraft had taken off from South
Korea's capital, Seoul.
The plane reportedly landed and then
crashed on San Francisco International
Airport's Runway 28L
Firefighters and rescue teams are at the
scene
The tail fin broke off during the crash and
could be seen lying on its side apart from
the main wreckage
Fire engines could be seen spraying a
white fire retardant into gaping holes in
the wrecked plane's roof
There were 292 passengers and 16 crew
on board, South Korea's official news
agency Yonhap reported. The plane can
carry as many as 300 passengers.
While the sequence of events remains
unclear, it appeared the plane landed
and then crashed on San Francisco
International Airport's Runway 28L, said
Federal Aviation Administration
spokeswoman Laura Brown.
Footage of the scene showed debris
strewn on the runway and smoke
pouring from the jet, as fire crews
sprayed a white fire retardant into gaping
holes in the craft's roof.
One engine and the tail fin appeared to
have broken away from the main
wreckage.
'Out of control'
Passenger David Eun tweeted a picture
of people jumping out of the plane's
emergency inflatable slides and wrote:
"I just crash landed at SFO. Tail ripped
off. Most everyone seems fine. I'm ok.
Surreal..."
Mr Eun, who describes himself as a
"digital media guy" and "frequent flier",
added: "Fire and rescue people all over
the place. They're evacuating the
injured. Haven't felt this way since
9/11."
A witness to the crash, Ki Siadatan, said
the plane "looked out of control" as it
descended over San Francisco Bay to land
just before 11:30 (18:30 GMT).
"We heard a 'boom' and saw the plane
disappear into a cloud of dust and
smoke," he told the BBC. "There was
then a second explosion."
He saw events unfold from the balcony
of his home in the Millbrae area of San
Francisco, which overlooks the airport.
Weather conditions were fine and there
was little wind, he added.
Arrivals and departures at the airport
have been suspended since the incident.
The twin-engine Boeing 777 has a good
safety record as a long-haul aircraft and is
used by many major carriers.
Asiana is South Korea's second-largest
airline.