Cleanup effort reportedly ignites fire on Asiana Airlines wreckage

A fire broke out overnight in the wreckage of the Asiana Airlines flight that crashed at San Francisco Airport, officials said Friday.

KGO-TV in San Francisco reported the fire occurred as crews were working to remove pieces of the wreckage from the runway. The fire was caused by friction created when crews were cutting the fuselage to remove it, the station reported.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze.

Investigators are finishing their on-scene work at Runway 28L but will continue to analyze pieces of the plane at the NTSB’s labs in Washington, D.C. A report that will officially determine the cause of the crash is expected in about a year. Cranes have removed much of the wreckage.

“We expect that there’s going to be a lot of hazardous materials, jet fuel, hydraulic fluid that needs to be cleaned up in that area; we also expect that we’re going to have to repave,” SFO spokesman Doug Yakel told KGO.

Two people were killed and 182 injured Saturday when the Boeing 777’s landing gear and tail struck a seawall and slammed into a runway at SFO.

ALSO:

NTSB wrapping up field work in Asiana Airlines crash probe

Woman with ‘visions’ says she helped find missing Menifee boy

Woman allegedly kept as servant has a child still living in Kenya