No survivors from plane, helicopter collision in Washington – World

American officials said Thursday that there were probably no survivors after an American Airlines passenger plane that transported 64 people crashed into the air with a military helicopter and crashed into the frozen waters of the Washington Potomac River.

“Now we are at a point where we are changing a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” said Washington DC firefighters, John Donnelly, to a press conference at the Reagan National Airport, the planned destination of the Passenger flight.

“At this point, we do not believe there are survivors,” Donnelly said, adding that 28 bodies had been recovered, including one from the helicopter.

There were no details about the cause of the accident, and the transport officials said that both airplanes were in standard flight patterns on a clear night with good visibility.

“I think this was preventable? Absolutely, ”said the Secretary of Transportation Duffy to the press conference.

Dozens of dead people were feared after the regional passenger jet and a Black Hawk helicopter from the US Army.

The authorities did not provide a number of deaths from the collision on Wednesday night, but the American senator Roger Marshall de Kansas, from where the flight was traveling, suggested that the majority, if not all who were on board, had been killed.

“It’s really difficult when you probably lose more than 60 Kansans simultaneously,” he told a press conference at the Early Airport on Thursday. “When a person dies, it is a tragedy, but when many, many people die, it is unbearable pain. It is a heartbreak without measure. “

American Airlines confirmed that 60 passengers and four crew members were aboard the plane. The helicopter, on a training flight, transported three soldiers, said an American official.

CBS newsQuoting a police officer, he said that at least 18 bodies had been recovered and reported that a diving team had recovered one of the two data recorders, the so -called black boxes, from the plane.

Two sources said Reuters that multiple bodies had been removed from the water.

The collision in the air occurred when the passenger plane, which was traveling from Wichita in Kansas, was in the approach to land in Reagan. Radio communications between the air traffic control tower and the Black Hawk showed that the helicopter crew knew that the plane was close.

The Pentagon said he was launching an investigation.

In a publication about Truth Social, President Donald Trump questioned the actions of the helicopter crew and air traffic controls about what he described as a clear night.

“This is a bad situation that seems to have been avoided. It’s not good !!! “he wrote.

Air traffic control recordings seem to capture the final communications attempt with the helicopter, call the PAT25 sign, before it clashes with the plane, described as CRJ.

“Pat25, do you have a CRJ in view? Pat25, pass behind the CRJ, ”says an air traffic controller at 8:47 pm (6:47 am), according to a recording at Liveatc.net.

Seconds later, another plane calls air traffic control, saying: “Torre, did you see that?” – Apparently referring to the accident. An air traffic controller redirects airplanes that go to track 33 to turn.

The video of the webcam of the crash showed the collision and an explosion illuminating the night sky.

“I just saw a fireball and then left. I have not seen anything since they went out to the river, ”an air traffic controller was heard saying on the radio.

Rescue efforts

The relatives gathered at the airport said they were receiving little official information. A man cried while standing on the sidewalk at 3 in the morning outside the airport.

The plane took several American ice skaters, family members and coaches who returned from a camp after the artistic skating championships in Wichita, said the governing body of American artistic skating.

Among those on board were the former world champion of Russian artistic skating Yevenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, Russian state media reported.

The Kremlin offered condolences to the families of the murdered Russians and said there were no plans for the contacts for now between President Vladimir Putin and Trump.

Donnelly said at least 300 lifeguards continued working on the “highly complex” rescue operation.

When dawn broke over the accident site, emergency ships could be seen with powerful arc lights and inflatables with diving equipment moving from one side to another over a wide area of ​​the river.

“These responders found extremely cold conditions, found heavy wind, found ice in the water and operated all night in those conditions,” he said.

Hypothermia is a concern for any possible survivor and lifeguards.

“At these cold water temperatures, the central temperature of the human body falls quickly. Exhaustion or unconsciousness can occur in just 15 to 30 minutes, ”said the senior director of Accuweather forecast operations, Dan Depodwin.

The CEO of the Airport Authority, Potter, said that the airport would remain closed up to at least 11 am on Thursday.

In 1982, Air Florida flight crashed into the 14th street bridge over the Potomac River, killing 70 passengers and four crew members. Only four passengers and a crew member survived.

The last mortal fatal accident that involved a commercial plane in the United States was in 2009 when the 49 people aboard a Collan Air flight died when the plane crashed in the state of New York. A person was also killed on the ground.

A series of nearby incidents in recent years has raised security concerns.

American Airlines Flight 5342 was operated by PSA Airlines, the American Ohio Regional Subsidiary, the FAA said.

“We are cooperating with the National Board of Transportation Security in your investigation and we will continue to provide all the information we can,” said the American Airlines CEO, Robert Isom.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was “deeply sad” for the news of the accident.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with [Donald Trump] and the American people at this difficult time. Our hearts are with the families of those who have lost their loved ones and pray for the safety of survivors, ”he said in an X publication.

The Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ishaq Dar, said he was afflicted when he heard the accident. “Our prayers for the success of the rescue efforts in progress and the sincere sympathies for the families of the victims and the people and the government of the United States,” he said in a publication about X.



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