A province in China has suspended overseas study tours after two Chinese girl students, on a summer trip to the US, died in a plane crash in San Francisco, officials said Monday.
The two teenaged girls from a middle school in Jiangshan city in eastern Zhejiang province died when an Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed, with 141 Chinese citizens among 291 people onboard, Xinhua reported.
The education bureau in Quzhou prefecture has told schools and other institutions to suspend all summer camps and study tours.
The Zhejiang provincial education department said it will release further measures to regulate study tours.
Besides the two students from Jiangshan, there were also six teachers and 30 pupils from the northern Shanxi province on the plane.
"The incident was accidental, and we have no complaints against the school," said the father of a school student from Jiangshan, who was part of a team of 30 pupils and four teachers.
"It was a disastrous accident for Jiangshan Middle School. We are deeply saddened," the school's vice principal said.
He said the girls who died had just become president and deputy president of the school TV station.
The Jiangshan Middle School started study tours with the Zhenjiang-based Boyue international communication consulting services company in 2006.
Parents pay 30,000 yuan (about $4,800) to send their children on a two-week study tour to the US.