More than 30 bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River where American Eagle Flight 5342 and a military helicopters both lie in ruin, two sources familiar with the rescue efforts told NBC Washington.
A multi-agency rescue operation continues through the night in challenging conditions.
man who lives alongside the Potomac River heard the moment American Eagle Flight 5342 collided with a U.S. military helicopter late last night and described the sound as like something from a movie or a war zone.
“I was getting ready to go to bed, laying down, when I hear the ‘bang bang,’ a very unusual sound, something you don’t hear on a daily basis,” said 38-year-old Abadi Ismail.
“It’s more like on a war zone, something you hear on the movies action. So that caught my attention,” he added.
Ismail looked out of his apartment window, which has views of the river, and saw smoke from the south of Regan Airport and began to film the unfolding rescue operation.
“Between ice, between frozen water, strong currents, it’s very challenging mission at the moment,” he said.
Elite American figure skaters were onboard the flight that suffered a midair collision with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River on Wednesday, the official American body for the sport said early Thursday.
Two Russian world champions were also among the passengers on the American Eagle flight, Russian state media reported.
U.S. Figure Skating said the athletes were returning from a training camp in Wichita, Kansas.