No survivors after helicopter collides with plane over Washington

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD: Divers pulled bodies from the icy waters of Washington’s Potomac River Thursday after a US military helicopter collided midair with a passenger plane carrying 64 people, with officials saying there were likely no survivors.

US President Trump says the cause of the Washington DC air crash that left 67 dead is unknown. As dawn broke over the crash site just three miles from the White House, wreckage from both aircraft protruded from the water and emergency vessels and diving teams scoured the area. “We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” Washington Fire Chief John Donnelly told a news conference at Reagan National Airport.

“We don’t believe there are any survivors,” he said, adding that 28 bodies had been recovered so far -- including one from the helicopter.

At least 300 first responders were involved in the operation -- conducted in pitch darkness for several hours -- with recovery teams discovering debris a mile downriver. “These responders found extremely frigid conditions, they found heavy wind, they found ice on the water, and they operated all night,” Donnelly said. There were no details on the cause of the crash, with transport officials saying both aircraft were on standard flight patterns on a clear night with good visibility.

“Do I think this was preventable? Absolutely,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told the news conference. Dramatic audio from air traffic controllers showed them repeatedly asking the helicopter if it had the passenger jet “in sight,” and then just before the crash telling it to “pass behind” the plane.

“I just saw a fireball and it was gone,” one air traffic controller was heard telling another after communication with the helicopter was cut. Both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River, and the fuselage of the passenger jet was broken into three sections.

US Figure Skating said several athletes, coaches and officials were aboard the flight, while officials in Moscow confirmed married Russian couple Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov -- who won the 1994 world pairs title -- were also on the jet.

The Bombardier plane operated by an American Airlines subsidiary, with 60 passengers and four crew on board, was approaching the airport at around 9:00 pm after flying from Wichita, Kansas, when the collision happened.

“The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport.

The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing,” US President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump blamed diversity policies under Barack Obama and Joe Biden for poor safety standards after a deadly crash. Trump confirmed there were no survivors after a military helicopter collided midair with a passenger plane carrying 64 people.

In another development, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the loss of lives caused by a mid-air accident in Washington, DC.