KTVU, a San Francisco Bay station, has formally apologized for reading false names on-air that allegedly belonged to the crew members of Asiana Flight 214.
The names were displayed on the screen as anchor Tori Campbell read them aloud and included Captain Sum Ting Wong, Wi Tu Lo, Ho Lee Fuk and Bang Ding Ow. Soon after, a video clip from the newscast went viral and caused public outcry at what some called a blatant disregard for respect, and the station blamed an intern for the mistake.
“We made several mistakes when we received this information. First, we never read the names out loud, phonetically sounding them out,” the apology read. “We have a lot of good people here at KTVU Channel 2. We pride ourselves on getting it right and having the highest of standards and integrity. Clearly, on Friday, that didn’t happen. So again, from everyone here at KTVU, we offer our sincerest apology.”
The plane crash has now claimed three lives after a girl succumbed to her injuries in intensive care; two other minor girls were killed, as well, one of whom was found in the path of a fire truck that had been spraying fire-retardant chemicals near the plane. Authorities say they are conducting an investigation as to whether she was killed in the plane crash or was run over by the truck.