DAVID, Panama — The sole survivor of a plane crash was reunited with her family Wednesday after rescue workers trekked for five hours to carry the 12-year-old American girl out of a remote mountain area, then airlifted her to a hospital.
Francesca Lewis, wearing a neck brace and with one arm bandaged, met with her parents at a hospital in the town of David, capital of Chiriqui province.
Michael Klein, a prominent California businessman, and his 13-year-old daughter, Talia — a friend of Francesca’s — were killed in Sunday’s crash near the jungle-flanked slopes of the Baru volcano, 270 miles west of the capital, Panama City. The Panamanian pilot Edwin Lasso, 23, was also killed.
Francesca was in stable condition at a private hospital with hypothermia, contusions and muscle injuries, and does not remember much about the crash, said Samuel Cattan, the doctor treating her.
“She lost consciousness, and she only remembers (the plane) falling into a cloud, and then she saw trees,” said Cattan.
He said Francesca will probably remain hospitalized for at least a week.
Francesca’s mother, father, uncle and sister came down from the United States to care for her. Earlier Wednesday, her mother, Valerie Lewis, said her daughter could walk, but had apparently suffered a broken arm and hypothermia.
“My husband spoke to her by phone this morning,” Lewis said. “She sounded good. She just said ‘Hi, daddy. See you soon.’ “
Rescue workers struggled for five hours against heavy rains and high-altitude winds to carry Francesca by stretcher from the crash site to a spot where a helicopter could land, Chiriqui Civil Protection Director Armando Palacios said.
A preliminary investigation showed the Cessna 172 struck a tree and split in two, said National Civil Protection Director Roberto Velasquez.
“It is miraculous that the girl could survive that impact,” he said.
Rescuers spent two days combing the mountainous area before finding Francesca and the bodies of the three others Tuesday. But cold, wet weather prevented her immediate evacuation, and she was initially treated in a makeshift shelter.
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