Washington D.C. fire chief said Thursday that there are likely no survivors in the mid-air collision of a passenger plane and helicopter near Reagan National Airport Wednesday night, APA reports citing Xinhua.
"We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. At this point, we don't believe there are any survivors from this accident," John Donnelly, chief of the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, told a press conference at the airport Thursday morning.
Donnelly said that at 8:48 p.m. local time (0148 GMT Thursday) last night, the control tower sounded an alert, notifying responders about a reported aircraft crash on or near the airport, noting that about 300 rescuers responded to the accident.
"These responders found extremely frigid conditions. They found heavy wind. They found ice on the water, and they operated all night in those conditions," Donnelly said.
The mid-air collision involved a regional jet that had departed from Wichita, Kansas, and a military Blackhawk helicopter. The Reagan National Airport will remain closed until at least 11:00 a.m. Thursday local time (1600 GMT), officials said early Thursday at a press briefing.
