DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and local officials held a media briefing early Thursday morning to give an update on the collision involving an Army helicopter and an American Airlines airplane at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night.
DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said there are 300 respondents working on the incident with police and fire boats from the region involved as recovery efforts to find passengers from the incident continue Thursday.
Donnelly also noted that DC Fire officials requested state police helicopters from Maryland, adding that this is a state and federal response.
What they're saying:
Donnelly said "It's a highly complex operation and the conditions are extremely rough for responders, it's cold, they're dealing with relatively windy conditions, wind is hard out on the river. They're out there working; we're doing everything we can to keep them safe."
When asked about the challenges for the rescue team by a media member, Donnelly explained "the challenges are access, the waters they were operating in is about 8 feet deep, there is wind, there are pieces of ice out there so it's dangerous and hard to work in and because there are not a lot of lights you're out there searching every square inch of space to see if you can find anybody. Divers are doing the same thing in the water; the water is dark and it's murky and that's a very tough condition for them to dive in."
U.S. Figure Skating confirmed several members were aboard the American Airlines flight that crashed into an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night.
Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were aboard the plane, along with other Russian nationals, the Associated Press reported, citing the Kremlin.
Shishkova and Naumov were married and won a 1994 world championship in pairs figure skating.
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The AP reported that coaches, skaters, and others had been in Wichita, Kansas for the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which concluded Sunday, and a development camp.
At least 28 bodies have been pulled from the water in a crash that occurred in some of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspace in the world, just over 3 miles south of the White House and the Capitol, the Associated Press reported Thursday.
Officials told the Associated Press that they were still searching for other casualties but did not believe there were any survivors.
The identities of the other victims aboard the plane are unknown at this time, as officials told the AP Thursday morning that no survivors are expected. The temperature of the river is around 35.4 degrees. According to the National Weather Service, individuals exposed to such temperatures could lose consciousness within 10 to 15 minutes.
Federal Aviation Administration officials announced that all takeoffs and landings from Reagan National Airport were stopped, but it will reopen at 11 a.m. Thursday.