This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:
Hibapress
“No one has survived” following the collision on Wednesday evening, above Washington between an airliner carrying 64 passengers and a military helicopter with three soldiers on board, said firefighters from the American federal capital.
“At this point, we do not think there are survivors in this accident,” said John Donelly during a press briefing Thursday morning.
“We are now at a point where we go from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” added Donelly.
Until now, the rescue teams, estimated at nearly 300 people, have recovered the bodies of 27 passengers from the plane and a passenger from the helicopter, noted the manager.
The accident occurred on Wednesday at around 9:00 p.m. locals (Thursday at 02:00 GMT) when an airliner operated by American Airlines carrying 60 passengers and 4 crew members collided in full flight with a Black Hawk helicopter of the ‘ US military carrying three soldiers.
The airliner had taken off from Wichita, in Kansas, according to American Airline, while an army official said that the Black Hawk had taken off from very Belvoir, Virginia.
The crash intervened above the Potomac river not far from the national Reagan airport.
