Diplomat consoles crash survivors

Consul-General Yuan Nansheng speaks to students who survived the Asiana Airlines Flight 214 plane crash at a dinner in Chinese consulate-general in San Francisco on Wednesday. [Chen Gang / China News Service]

About 70 students who survived the Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crash-landing in San Francisco on Saturday gathered on Wednesday in the city's Chinese consulate-general, where they were encouraged to stay brave and strong.

At a dinner hosted by Consul-General Yuan Nansheng, Yuan said he was sad that the two high school girls who were killed in the accident could not be there.

He said he hoped the students in attendance will regard the consulate-general as their home in the United States.

Eighty of the 138 Chinese passengers had made arrangements to stay at the Crowne Plaza Hotel near San Francisco International Airport. The rest have already left the city.

Yuan and the families of the two deceased girls met representatives of the San Mateo Coroner's Office immediately after the families' arrival. Several officials from the consulate-general accompanied the others to visit their injured relatives at San Francisco General Hospital.