MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/. Rescuers have recovered the body of Russian figure skater Vadim Naumov who was killed in a passenger plane in the United States earlier this week, the athlete’s mother, Iya Naumova, told TASS.
Evgenia Shishkova, who was flying with Naumov, did not survive either. The two athletes were Russia’s 1994 world champions in figure skating.
"[The body of] Vadim has been found and identified, and his funeral will be held in Boston," Naumova shared.
Before the body of her son was retrieved, Naumova told TASS that the skating pair would be buried in the United States.
An American Airlines passenger plane and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter collided midair near Reagan National Airport on Wednesday evening local time. The passenger flight traveling from Kansas was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, and there were at least three US Army soldiers on board the military chopper. The passenger plane split apart and came to rest in the Potomac River. At least 40 bodies have been retrieved from the river, and US officials believe there are no survivors after the deadly plane crash.
Members of the US junior figure skating team were on board the passenger plane that crashed in Washington, D.C., The Wichita Eagle reported. Russia’s 1994 world champions in figure skating, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, as well as Inna Volyanskaya, who won a bronze medal at the 1980 USSR Championships, were on board the flight, too, a source told TASS.
US President Donald Trump confirmed that there were Russian nationals among those killed. The US has already been in contact with Russia and will facilitate the transfer of their remains home, he said.