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30 Jan, 12:12

FACTBOX: What we know about aftermath of passenger plane collision near Washington, D.C.

US officials have not disclosed any information about potential survivors, the Crisis Management Center of the Russian Foreign Ministry stated

MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/. An airplane carrying 64 people on board collided with a military helicopter carrying at least three crew members midair over Washington.

TASS has gathered the main facts about the deadly accident.

Circumstances behind emergency

- The US Federal Aviation Administration reported that a Bombardier CRJ700 passenger plane was involved in a midair collision with a Black Hawk military helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

- The American Airlines regional flight had departed from Kansas with 60 passengers and four crew members aboard.

- At least three soldiers were in the helicopter.

- The wreckage of the aircraft plunged into the Potomac River.

- Rescuers and divers continue to search for possible survivors.

- Dive teams combed through the site and recovered one of the flight recorders from the crashed plane, CBS News reported.

- The helicopter crew informed the dispatcher that the plane was within their field of vision, the Associated Press reported, citing recorded transmissions.

Casualties

- US officials have not disclosed any information about potential survivors, the Crisis Management Center of the Russian Foreign Ministry stated.

- American figure skaters and coaches were among the passengers, according to The Wichita Eagle.

- Russian figure skaters and other citizens were also on the flight, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed.

- Russia's 1994 world champions in figure skating, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, along with Inna Volyanskaya, a bronze medalist at the 1980 USSR Championships, were listed among the passengers, a source told TASS.

Authorities' response

- US President Donald Trump described the incident as a "bad situation", stating that the "terrible" crash "should have been prevented."

- Search and rescue operations remain underway, and an investigation was immediately launched by the US Army and the Department of Defense, according to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth.

- There is no evidence of criminal activity or terrorism, NBC News quoted a senior FBI official as saying.

- US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said the agency would deploy the Coast Guard to assist in search and rescue missions.