Passenger Xu Da was sitting at the rear of the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 as it was coming in to land at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday.

"I was very scared when I felt the violent bangs and the sounds of the crash," he said.

The plane crash-landed and burst into flames with more than 300 passengers and crew onboard, including 141 Chinese, 77 South Koreans and 61 US citizens.

Two Chinese teenagers died and more than 180 passengers were injured, 49 seriously.

An investigation into the cause of the accident has begun.

"The plane flew extremely low, even as low as the sea wall, as I was looking out of the window. I felt the plane drop suddenly, but then I felt a surge of power from the back and the plane tried to ascend again," Xu said.

"I mumbled a prayer for a safe landing and held the seat tightly in front of me. All of a sudden, I heard an almighty noise from the back of the plane. Oxygen masks dropped from the overhead compartments and I smelled burning and saw flames."

He recalled that as soon as the plane came to a halt, the scene inside the cabin was one of chaos. People rushed to stand up and retrieve their luggage instead of fleeing the stricken aircraft.

"I thought something unusual had happened, but did not imagine it was so serious," he said. "However, my wife was very calm and even managed to collect some trivial stuff that fell from an overhead compartment. I urged her to hurry up, and when I turned back to put my bag over my shoulder, I saw the light coming in from outside."

Xu only realized how serious the situation was when he discovered that most of the plane's kitchen area had disappeared, leaving a huge hole.

"Without thinking, I held onto my wife and pushed my child out of the plane," he said, stressing that the passengers were calm and orderly as they followed the instructions of the cabin crew.

President Xi Jinping expressed his great sorrow and sent his condolences to the victims on Sunday.

The two Chinese teenagers who died - Ye Mengyuan, 16, and Wang Linjia, 17 - had been sitting in the rear section of the aircraft.

San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault told a local newspaper that one of the two girls appeared to have been thrown from the rear of the plane and landed on the runway when the tail broke off. The second girl was found outside the aircraft near the left wing, according to Foucrault.

The flight, which originated in Shanghai on Saturday, first flew to Seoul to take on more passengers before departing later than scheduled at 5:04 pm Korean time. It arrived in San Francisco at 11:28 am local time.

US federal authorities are looking into reports that the plane may have hit the sea wall on an approach area that juts out into the harbor, the Los Angeles Times reported.

A Chinese pilot surnamed Wang, who witnessed the accident from a boarding gate, told China News Service that he saw the plane's wheels and tail hit the sea wall before the crash.

Most of the passengers evacuated via inflatable emergency slides and left the plane as plumes of smoke started to rise.

Worried parents gathered at Jiangshan High School on Sunday. They were briefed about the latest developments and school authorities helped them contact the Chinese consulate in San Francisco and Zhejiang's foreign affairs department to make sure assistance was delivered to the children.

A Jiangshan official who was visiting the US rushed to San Francisco to provide assistance, according to the Jiangshan government.

Officials from the Chinese consulate visited eight of the injured Chinese passengers at San Francisco General Hospital on Saturday afternoon. Most of the injuries were slight. A 4-year-old boy, who was traveling with his mother and cousin, broke some bones in the crash, according to Wang Chuan, a consulate press officer.

Passenger Xu Ruonan sent her mother a text message on Saturday. The 16-year-old said she had arrived safely in San Francisco, but didn't mention that she had survived an air crash.

Chen Aiwu, her mother, said on Sunday that she learned about the crash from the television news and quickly contacted her daughter, who was part of a group of 30 students and six teachers from Jiangshan High School in Quzhou, Zhejiang province.

"She told me she was seated in the middle of the aircraft and passengers were evacuated in an orderly fashion," said Chen, who was relieved to discover that her daughter's injuries were slight, mainly minor bruising, and that she was helping to take care of injured classmates at a hospital.

"She said her mobile phone had run out of power, as had those of many of her schoolmates, but their chargers were burned along with their other belongings in the luggage hold," she said.

Chen said she was relieved to hear that her daughter was safe and urged her to take care of herself and comply with the teachers' requests.

"She sounded very calm on the phone," she said. "My girl travels a lot and she doesn't panic in emergencies."

South Korean President Park Geun-hye expressed her condolences to the passengers and their families on Sunday: "All the relevant government bodies will work together and make every effort to deal quickly with the aftermath of this accident."

Boeing, the maker of the 777 aircraft, released a statement on Saturday. "Boeing will join the United States' National Transportation Safety Board at their request to provide technical assistance to their investigation. In accordance with the international protocol governing aviation accident investigations, all inquiries about the investigation must be directed to the NTSB."

"Boeing extends its deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who perished in the Asiana Airlines Flight 214 accident in San Francisco, as well as its wishes for the recovery of the injured."

Edwin M. Lee, the mayor of San Francisco, wrote on his Sina micro blog: "Our city's sympathy and support go out to the passengers of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 and their families. They remain our first priority."

The president of Asiana Airlines, Yoon Young-doo, said at a news conference in Seoul on Sunday: "I sincerely apologize for the accident, and to the passengers and their families."

He said the three pilots on the flight were highly experienced, with combined flying time of around 10,000 hours. He confirmed that their actions were in line with aviation laws. He said there were no indications of technical failure in the aircraft's systems or the engines, and the passengers received no warning before the accident.

Zhang Yuwei in New York, Chang Jun in San Francisco, Hou Liqiang, Wang Wen, Zhang Fan and Wang Shanshan in Beijing contributed to this story.

(China Daily USA 07/08/2013 page3)