A passenger plane from Kansas crashed into Washington’s Potomac River after colliding mid-air with a military helicopter near Reagan National Airport on Wednesday January 29, 2025.
The aircrafts accident prompted a major emergency response, grounding all flights at Reagan National Airport.
Authorities are yet to release official information about casualties but the rescue exercise was ongoing.
However, the plane involved in the accident, a Bombardier regional jet, can carry up to a maximum of 78 passengers.
Unconfirmed reports indicate the passenger plane was 60 people during the incident.
Meanwhile, the US Army confirmed that the helicopter, a Black Hawk model, was carrying three soldiers as crew aboard at the time of the accident, although their status still remains unknown.
The Washington Post had reported that police were seen pulling several bodies from the wreckage of the aircrafts.
Speaking to CNN, an eyewitness Ari Schulman described the accident scene as a stream of sparks that appeared like a large firework.
“It was banked all the way to the right… I could see the underside of it, it was lit up a very bright yellow, and there was a stream of sparks underneath it. It looked like a Roman candle,” he told CNN.
Police said fire boats had joined the rescue operation on the Potomac River, where the exercise was complicated by the fact it was dark and close to freezing.
