More than 30 bodies pulled from river after US plane-helicopter crash: Reports

More than 30 bodies have been pulled from Washington DC’s Potomac River, according to media reports, after a US passenger jet carrying 64 people collided mid-air with a Black Hawk military helicopter on a nighttime training exercise, prompting a major emergency response and grounding all flights.

Media station NMC Affiliate reported the number of bodies pulled from the snow-lined Potomac on Thursday.

Four crew and 60 passengers were on the ill-fated commercial passenger jet. Three soldiers were aboard the helicopter, a US official said.

Officials did not provide a death toll from the collision. But US Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, where the flight originated, suggested that all on board died, saying at a news conference at Reagan airport early Thursday that “it’s really hard when you lose probably over 60 Kansans simultaneously.”

“When one person dies, it’s a tragedy, but when many, many, many people die, it’s an unbearable sorrow,” he said. “It’s a heartbreak beyond measure.”

The US figure skating body said Thursday that several members of the international skating community were believed to on the plane. They include Russian ice skating coaches and former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, Russian state media reported.

Washington, DC, fire chief John Donnelly said at the news conference that at least 300 first responders were continuing to work on the “highly complex” rescue operation.

“Conditions out there are extremely rough for the responders,” Donnelly said. “It’s cold. They’re dealing with windy conditions.”

Asked by reporters whether there were any survivors, he responded that “we don’t know yet.”

Jack Potter, the president and CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authoritysaid the airport would remain closed until at least 11 a.m. on Thursday.