Deaths reported as US airlines collided by a helicopter
Airliner with 64 people crashed into the Potomac River after colliding with a military helicopter outside Washington.
The collision happened as the flight of American Airlines from Wichita in Kansas on Wednesday around 9:00 pm Local Time (02:00 GMT) brought the National Airport Ronald Reagan.
The authorities did not confirm whether there were victims from the collision, but the US partner of the BBC CBS reported that police have been recovered so far, 18 bodies have been recovered, without survivors.
Three US army soldiers were on board the Black Hawk helicopter who collided with the aircraft, the defense officer said.
It is unclear where the helicopter comes from – although it belongs to the battalion based in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
More federal and local agencies are included in the rescue mission.
At the scene, the BBC noticed debris believed to be from the plane floating in the Potomac River. American media say the aircraft split in half when it collapsed into the water.
The wicked people told the local media that they saw sparks and flashes when a collision occurred in the air.
Ari Schulman said NBC Washington, which took place before changing quickly from “completely normal” to “very, very wrong”.
Below the jet was “Stream spark.” “It looked like a giant Roman candle to me … I looked back to see a fireball,” he said.
Asked at a press conference how many people were rescued or recovered, Mayor of Washington DC Muriel Bower said he could only confirm the number of passengers in each aircraft.
Emergency city boss John Donnelly said that lifeguards fight cold, wind and darkness in the water.
“There is a wind. There are pieces of ice in the water … and because there is not a lot of light, you search every square inch of space,” he said.
“These are very difficult conditions for [rescuers] Dive, “he added.
US President Donald Trump said he “fully met a terrible accident.”
“Thank you for the incredible work that our first liability has performed. I oversee the situation and give more details as they appear,” he said in a statement.
The take -off and landings have been stopped in Washington National, because the emergency staff responds to the incident, the airport wrote in the post on X.
Flights are diverted to the Dulles International Airport, about 28 miles (45 km), and the Metro Washington DC system will remain late to lead additional trains to transport passengers to the city, said the traffic administration spokesman.
Federal air authorities and US Congress have launched an incident investigations.
Executive director of American Airlines Robert Isom said she sent a team to the Washington DC and that he would travel there too.