As a result of the collision between an American Airlines plane and a Black Hawk military helicopter in the Washington area, there were no survivors.
This was stated by President Donald Trump during a briefing, as reported by NBC News.
This year has been the deadliest for commercial aviation since 2018 – researchCommercial aviation has experienced its deadliest year since 2018 – in 2024, 318 people lost their lives in aviation accidents. The politician began his speech with a moment of silence in memory of the tragedy's victims and their families.
“Unfortunately, there are no survivors. It was a dark and painful night for our nation's capital, for our country's history, and a tragedy of horrific proportions,” he said.
Trump added that a large-scale search and rescue operation lasted throughout the night.
“All available resources were utilized, and I must say that local, state, federal military, including the U.S. Coast Guard in particular, did a phenomenal job,” emphasized the head of the White House.
Recall that the aviation accident over Washington occurred on the evening of January 29 local time. The American Airlines plane, which had taken off from Wichita, Kansas, collided with the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport and fell into the Potomac River.
There were 64 people on board the plane, and three military personnel on the helicopter. Earlier, the fire department of the District of Columbia indicated that there might be no survivors.
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