Many Plane Crash Victims Suffered Spinal Injuries and Some Are Paralyzed

San Francisco General Hospital Chief of Surgery Dr. Margaret Knudson spoke to reporters late Sunday morning about the condition of the 19 people who remained hospitalized following Saturday's fatal plane crash at San Francisco International Airport.

The hospital treated 53 patients from the 11:30 a.m. crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214, the most of any hospital in the Bay Area as a result of the crash, hospital spokeswoman Rachael Kagan said.

Two girls, both 16, were killed in the crash.

Of those patients who were admitted to SFGH, 27 were adults and 26 were children. As of Sunday morning, 34 had been discharged.

Six patients remained in critical condition, including a girl whose age the hospital couldn't release. The adults range in age from 20 to 76.

Knudson said she was on duty Saturday when the hospital received word of the multi-casualty incident. She said four trauma teams were ready to help, and five operating rooms were prepared for the victims.

Injuries ranged from severe to fair.

"What we did see are patterns of large amounts of abdominal injuries, a huge amount of spine fractures — some of them which include paralysis," Knudson said. 

"We have seen some head trauma, and multiple types of orthopedic injuries," she said.

Additionally, some patients had severe road rash, suggesting they had been dragged, Knudson said.