• Laine Hendricks

Salvation Army Responds to Asiana Airlines Flight 214 Crash

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (July 6, 2013 – 9:00p.m. PDT):  The Salvation Army has mobilized two teams in response to the Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crash at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) today. 

The first team arrived on-site to SFO at 2:30p.m. (PDT) at the request of San Francisco Police Department to provide language translation support, including translating the needs of Korean-speaking passengers to airline and government officials.  In addition, the response team provided emotional counseling, shoes and blankets to crash survivors.

A second team was called at 5:00p.m. (PDT) to provide additional Korean-language translation support at one of the San Francisco hospitals treating injured passengers.

Both teams will continue to provide translation assistance and support as survivors are released from Bay Area hospitals and are transported back to SFO for further processing by local and federal authorities.

“The Salvation Army is deeply saddened by this tragic event ” said, “Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Smith, Divisional Commander for The Salvation Army’s Golden State Division. “Please continue to pray for everyone affected by this crash.”

The Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 crash-landed at San Francisco International Airport at around 11:30a.m. Saturday morning while in route from Seoul.  The incident killed 2 people and injured nearly 200 others.

The Salvation Army will continue to work closely with local and federal authorities to support the needs of Flight 214 crash survivors.  Additional support staff is on standby to assist as survivor needs evolve.

At this time, The Salvation Army is not asking for donations of material goods to support this effort.  It’s too early in the recovery effort to understand the needs of the crash survivors.  Although The Salvation Army is not requesting in-kind goods donations at this time, gifts of gently-used household goods, clothing, etc., are always needed by Salvation Army Family Stores to support their work in the local community. Find out more at www.satruck.com.

For continued updates and more information from The Salvation Army, please visit http://blog.salvationarmyusa.org, facebook.com/SalvationArmyUSA or twitter.com/SalvationArmyUS. 

About The Salvation Army:
The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church established in London in 1865, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination for more than 130 years in the United States. Nearly 30 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through the broadest array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. For more information, go to www.SalvationArmyUSA.org.