3
POPSGirl,12,is sole survivor of Panama plane crash
A preliminary investigation showed the plane struck a tree and split in two, according to Roberto Velasquez, director of Panama's National Civil Protection. "It is miraculous that the girl could survive that impact," he said. Rescue workers battled heavy rains and high winds to carry Francesca by stretcher from the area of the plane crash, high on the 3,500 feet (1,067-metre) Baru volcano. Efforts to remove the bodies have since been hampered by bad weather. Francesca's mother, father, uncle and sister travelled to Panama from the US, as well as Kim Klein, whose ex-husband and daughter died in the crash. The surviving girl's mother Valerie Lewis said her daughter could walk and was talking. "My husband spoke to her by phone this morning," Ms Lewis said on Wednesday. "She sounded good. She just said 'Hi, daddy. See you soon'." Michael Klein was the chief executive of Pacificor LLC, a Santa Barbara-based company that manages several hedge funds. He had been on holiday