Washington DC:
Washington DC Plane Crash LIVE Updates: An American Airlines regional passenger jet carrying 64 people crashed into Washington DC’s Potomac River on Wednesday after colliding mid-air with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport. A US Army official said the helicopter was carrying three soldiers — their status currently unknown. The incident prompted a major emergency response and the grounding of all flights. According to Washington police, “there is no confirmed information on casualties at this time,” although a massive search and rescue operation was in progress.
The Washington Post report quoted unnamed sources saying police had started to pull multiple bodies from the chilly Potomac River. No survivors had been found so far, the newspaper reported. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said on social media that “we know there are fatalities,” though he did not say how many.
According to a report by CBS, at least 18 bodies have been recovered from the crash site. American Airlines said on social media that it was “aware of reports that American Eagle flight 5342, operated by PSA, with service from Wichita, Kansas (ICT) to Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) has been involved in an incident.” The Airlines said it would provide more information as it became available to the company.