An American Airlines plane carrying 64 passengers crashed with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter. The collision caus♚ed both aircraft to plunge into the Potomac River in Washingt🅰on DC.
As per the lꦺatest press conference from the Washington DC Fire Chief, all 64 passengers on the American Airlines plane are feare𝓀d dead. Rescue operations remain ongoing as 27 bodies have been recovered from the river.
Speaking to reporters during a press briefing, DC fire and EMS chief John A Donnelly said that the crash alert was sound🎶ed at 8.48 PM ꦬon Wednesday.
He added that the department "believes there are no surv♒ivors" and that as of now 27 bodies have been pulled out from the Potomac River.
Donnelly added that first responders found “extremely frigid conditions.൲ They found heavy wind. They found ice on the water, and they’ve operated all night in those conditions.”
“I can’t say anything about the rescue opﷺeration right now,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said during the press conference about the crash.
As per AP, the Mayor declined to comment on the condition of aircraft, which remainꦏsꦐ submerged in the Potomac River.
The initial press conference w🧸as held at the Reagan National Airport with no m🌳ajor updates on survivors or deaths.
The rescue operations are on 🐓but have been challenging as per D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly. The river is about 8 feet (2.4 meters) deep and since the incident occurred at night, the water is "dark and murky"
While details about the passengers are yet to be released, Russian state media TASS reported 🎃that, former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were on board the American Airlines plane that crashed into the Potomac River.
Citing Team USA pair skater Luke Wang, AP also reported that severalꦐ victims of Washington DC plane crash were US Figure Sk𓂃ating Championship contestants.
What We Know About The Crash
At 9 PM Local time on Wednesday, a PSA a PSA Airlines jet operating as 𓆉American Airlines 5342 collided with a US Army helicopter near the Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington DC.
🐠As per American Airlinesౠ, the passenger plane was carrying 60 passengers and four crew. Meanwhile, on the Army aircraft, three soldiers were on board.
Around 300 responders have been deployed to search for the passengers, crew and soᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚldiers.
