San Francisco Plane Crash Victims Were En Route to Christian School in LA

Religion Today | Updated: Jul 08, 2013

San Francisco Plane Crash Victims Were En Route to Christian School in LA

Two 16-year-old Chinese girls who died in the Asiana Airlines plane crash at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday were among 35 Chinese students on their way to attend a three-week summer camp at a Christian school in Los Angeles, the Christian Post reports. The two victims, identified as Wang Lin Jia and Ye Meng Yuan, and the 33 other teenagers on board Asiana Airlines Flight 214 were expected to arrive at West Valley Christian School in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles on Monday, the school said in a statement posted on its website. "Now, we are unsure what their next steps will be ... but we are certain that God knows and will help us care for them in this time of crisis," the statement read. While the school has hosted several summer camps, this was to be its first international event with students from Jiangshan Middle School in China's eastern Zhejiang province. West Valley Christian Church, which runs the school, expressed shock and grief during its two worship services on Sunday. "I can only imagine as a parent how those parents feel," senior minister Glenn Kirby said. "I grieve with them even though I've never met them." The students were scheduled to spend three weeks with church families as part of a summer study-abroad program, which included learning English, exposure to American culture, tours to local universities and sight-seeing. A prayer vigil will be held on Thursday evening at West Valley Christian Church and School "to remember the two precious girls who died from our group of 35." The invitees include host families, former host families and families from the community.

San Francisco Plane Crash Victims Were En Route to Christian School in LA