In the morning (local time) US President Donald Trump confirmed that there are no survivors. Overnight, rescue workers with boats and divers in the ice -cold water of the Potomac river had feverishly searched for survivors – but without success.
“At the moment we do not believe that there are survivors,” said fire chief John Donnelly before. According to Donnelly, 27 corpses were recovered from the passenger plane until early and a body from the helicopter. You work to find all the bodies, he promised. But that will take a while in view of the difficult conditions in the salvage campaign.
- Read too: Aircraft collision over Washington: Several figure skaters were on board
The accident happened on Wednesday evening near Ronald-Reagan-Airport (DCA), which is located directly on the Potomac. There, a passenger machine with 64 people on board collided with a military helicopter on board. Both plunged into the water. Three people were on board the helicopter, as US media reported. There were 60 passengers and four crew members on the plane.
Crash into ice -cold water
After the collision, hectic scenes took place. Sirens howled along the river bank, around the airport rast vehicles with flashing lights in all directions. Helicopters flew over the river. Hundreds of rescue workers hurried to the scene of the accident and fought against adverse conditions – and against time.
Because from the beginning it was clear that the chances of survival in the ice -cold water were low. In Washington, the temperatures have been far below freezing in the past few days, and it was only noticeably warmer at the beginning of the week. The water of the river is still freezing cold and frozen in some places. In addition, the emergency services had to do with strong wind, which drove the debris further along the river.
Video: A surveillance camera filmed the deadly collision
Search for cause
According to the previous investigations, the fuselage of the passenger machine broke into three parts. How the collision came about is completely unclear. So far there is no evidence of crime or terrorism.
According to the aviation authority FAA, the passenger plane was a machine of the Bombardier CRJ700 machine from American Airlines, which started in the city of Wichita in the state of Kansas. According to the Pentagon, the helicopter was a UH-60 helicopter, a model from a family of military multi-purpose helicopters. According to the Pentagon, the helicopter was on a practice flight.
Often military machines on the go
The airspace over Washington is heavily frequented – in addition to civil air traffic, military machines and government aircraft are often on the move. Anyone who lives in Washington regularly sees “how military helicopters fly up and down the river,” said US Transport Minister Sean Duffy. “This is a standard route you fly.” There is a standard procedure for the coexistence of passenger machines and helicopters. But in this case “something went wrong”. What exactly is being examined.
Duffy emphasized that there were no abnormalities before the accident. “Everything was normal before the crash.” It was a clear night with good visual conditions. And the helicopter’s pilots were aware that the passenger machine was nearby. The misfortune would have been avoidable, said the Minister of Transport. Trump had previously said.
Figure skaters under victims
There were several figure skaters, coaches and their relatives on board the passenger machine. They were on the way back from a training camp that took place as part of the national championships in Wichita in Kansas, it said in a statement by the American figure skating association. “We are shaken about this unspeakable tragedy and close the families of the victims into our heart,” said the association.
According to the state media in Moscow, the Kremlin also confirmed the death of two figure skaters of Russian origin: Jewgenia Schischkowa and Wadim Naumow, two ex-world champions in pairs, who most recently worked as a coach in the USA. There were also “others of our fellow citizens” on board, said Kremllagers Dmitri Peskow.
“Terrible accident”
In a written notification, US President Trump said that he had been informed about the “terrible accident” and observed the situation. The Republican thanked the rescue workers for their commitment. He suggested that the flight accident in Washington could go back to a pilot error in the military helicopter involved. There was a “pilot problem” at the helicopter, Trump said at a press conference in the White House in Washington, without calling evidence. The helicopter could have stopped, the 78-year-old claimed. “I have helicopters, you can stop a helicopter very quickly.”
“}”>
Image: (APA/AFP/Roberto Schmidt)
Source: Nachrichten
