I talked with two young students from Shanxi. It was all in Mandarin. So I'll just sum up what they said.
Their group of 30 kids and five teachers all survived the crash, with only one minor injury.
Li Ze-Su, 13, tells me after the plane crashed he had to jump out of the plane from at least 20 feet up with nothing to cushion his fall because the emergency chutes near him did not deploy.
After he hit the ground, Li says he ran. As he looked back, he saw smoke consume the plane.
He saw one flight attendant unconscious, and many injured people. He's amazed that he was not hurt.
Li's friend also told me that from the middle section where he sat, the damage didn't look that bad.
They say they were thankful to have left the hotel briefly Tuesday, with escorts, to attend an ice cream party. Other than that, they haven't been allowed to leave the Crowne Plaza. They've spent the past few days taking pictures for new passports.
But they don't know whether they'll continue on with their planned 15-day U.S. summer camp, or return to China once their interviews, documents, and travel arrangements are finalized.
For now, they wait.
