All 67 people onboard the American Airlines plane and the Army chopper that collided near Washington, DC earlier in the day are feared dead, a senior fire official said. As per news reports, at least 28 bodies have been recovered so far from the Potomac River where both the aircraft fell after the clash.
The incident, among the deadliest in American history, took place as a commercial jet attempted to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport, colliding midair with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter. There were three Army personnel onboard the chopper.
"We are now at a point where we’re switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident," John Donnelly, Washington's fire chief said while addressing a presser.
The body of the passenger jet was found upside down in three sections in waist-deep water. The wreckage of the helicopter was also found.
The search for additional victims and further wreckage is underway.
Officials have yet to ascertain the reason behind the collision. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are present at the accident site, working to piece together the circumstances led up to the catastrophic event.
The Federal Aviation Administration said that the collision took place shortly after 9 pm (IST) which involved a passenger jet departing from Wichita in Kansas, and a military helicopter engaged in a training exercise. The crash occurred during the jet’s approach to the airport runway, just over three miles from the White House and the Capitol.
Images from the river showed rescue boats surrounding a partially submerged wing, alongside what seemed to be the twisted wreckage of the aircraft's fuselage.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump was "fully briefed on this terrible accident" and, referring to the passengers, he said, "May God Bless their souls".
According to news agency Associated Press, passengers on the American Airlines flight included a group of figure skaters, their coaches and family members who were returning from a development camp that followed the US Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.
Source: ANI