Editor Note: Follow the latest updates of this development story in this blog live.
An American Airlines flight and a military helicopter collided and crashed into the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night, confirmed DC Fire and EMS. Lifeguards
The video of the Earthcam web camera network shows the time of the collision. It shows a great flash on the impact. President Donald Trump has been informed about the video, said the White House.
The plane had about 60 people on board. Three people were aboard the helicopter. More than a dozen bodies have been recovered, sources said. At least four people have been recovered and were urgently taken to hospitals. A frantic search and rescue effort to find accident victims in the river is underway.
The foreign doctor’s office is preparing for the greater recovery of bodies that have been handled in decades, a source told News4.
The water temperature was approximately 35 ° at the time of the accident, said Doug Kammerer of Storm Team4. At that temperature, someone is 15 to 20 minutes before hypothermia, he said.
A FAA statement says: “A regional Bombardier CRJ700 aircraft of PSA Airlines CRJ700 collided in the air with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while approaching track 33 at the Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 PM local [Eastern] time. PSA was operating flight 5342 as American Airlines. He left Wichita, Kansas. “
A mass emergency response was developed. Fire railings are in the water, and the Metropolitan Police Department also responded.
Fire departments from all over the region organized in Graselly Point north of Reagan National. News4 Video shows a sea of fire trucks, ambulances and police cars to the Potomac.
A senior FBI official says that the staff of the Washington Field Office is compatible to help, but there is nothing to indicate anything related to the criminal or terrorist in the accident.
All take -offs and landings were arrested in Reagan National, which will remain closed until at least 11 in the morning on Friday. Nightly flights were diverted to Dulles International Airport.
The FAA said it and the NTSB will investigate, with the NTSB leading the investigation.
Stay with News4 and NBCWashington.com to obtain updates of this last minute story.
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