Outrage in China as Asiana Airlines flight crashes

The crash of Asiana Airlines flight 214 in San Francisco, USA, has become one of the most controversial events of the week. While experts are still investigating the primary cause of the accident, Chinese public opinion is focused on the issue of some passengers not adhering to aviation safety regulations, resulting in the deaths of two passengers and hundreds injured.

The controversy stems from photographs taken at the accident scene. Amidst the billowing smoke and wreckage after the plane exploded, passengers were seen evacuating. However, notably, some individuals were still attempting to hold onto their luggage. For example, a woman was seen pulling a suitcase with one hand and carrying a bag with the other.

These images, recently published by the media, immediately became a topic of discussion among netizens, especially the Chinese community, as nearly half of the passengers on the flight were Chinese nationals. Most criticized this as an irresponsible act and a clear violation of aviation safety regulations.

Megan Zhong – a Weibo user – expressed her anger: 'I am truly disappointed in those people. Do they really think their luggage is more important than human lives?'

'Foreigners (especially Americans) cannot understand that, in China, human lives may not even be worth as much as money.' – another member named Victory of Xiangzi expressed indignation.

Some netizens show empathy: 'We must remember one thing, human life is more important than anything. However, I believe these passengers holding onto their luggage is a primal instinct.'

Several passengers on the crashed flight spoke out to explain their decision to bring luggage during evacuation, including Xu Da, the product development manager of Taobao (a well-known online marketplace in China).

Xu Da wrote on Weibo: 'Some people criticized me for holding onto my belongings and hindering the rescue efforts. Today, I want to clarify this. Firstly, my family (3 people) was seated together, our bags were directly overhead. We did not stand in the aisle to retrieve our belongings, so there was no obstruction. Secondly, passports, money... everything was in the bag, we would have difficulty without those documents. Lastly, everyone was heading towards the cockpit, everything was not too chaotic,. No one was chasing after me. My son said to me, 'we can go' (through the holes on the plane rather than the emergency slide) and we left the plane that way.'

Although the explanation was clear, it only fueled more public outrage. A member named Olivia Yi rebuked: 'Are you insane? Carrying luggage while escaping. Ignorant and selfish. Do you realize that such actions could lead to the death of others? Next time, please read the safety instructions on the plane carefully. For you, property may be very important. But human life is worth hundreds of thousands of times more.'

Meanwhile, a member who is a pilot with the account Happy Beyond the Cloud shared: 'American Airlines flight attendants often complain to me about many Chinese passengers refusing to fasten their seat belts during landing and carrying overweight luggage. This happens so frequently that some airlines have to announce multiple times in Chinese that, if passengers do not cooperate with the flight attendants, they will be fined up to $1500. Do these passengers not realize that violating regulations could kill them if an accident occurs?'

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Source: Travel Guide by Mytour