World champion among them

Little hope for survivors in Washington

30.01.2025 10:14

After the collision of an airliner with a US military Black Hawk in Washington D.C., in which almost 70 people fell into the icy waters of the Potomac River, there is little hope of survivors. It has been reported that several athletes from the US national figure skating federation, their coaches and relatives are among the victims - two Russian world figure skating champions were also on board.

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The passenger plane had collided with a US military helicopter on approach at Reagan National Airport - after an explosion in the air, the helicopter and plane plunged into the freezing river. "The conditions out there are extremely tough," said John Donnelly, head of the fire and rescue service in Washington.

Figure skaters among the victims
There were 60 passengers and four crew members on board the passenger plane. As reported by CNN, several athletes from the national figure skating association US Figure Skating were on board the plane. "These athletes, coaches and family members were on their way home from the National Development Camp held as part of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas," a statement from the organization read.

The National Figure Skating Association mourns that some of its athletes were on board the ill-fated plane:

Former stars and coaches as well as hopeful young athletes died in the tragedy. The Kremlin also confirmed that Russian figure skaters Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were among the victims. The two had been crowned pairs world champions in Chiba in 1994.

Pictures of Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov from their active days:

The Russian couple had moved to the USA in 1998. They were traveling with a group of young athletes - many of whom were children of people who had emigrated from Russia to the USA. "We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the families of the victims close in our hearts," read a statement from the US Figure Skating Association.

Sympathy from the Kremlin
Condolences were also sent from the Kremlin: "This is very bad news from Washington. We are very sorry, we send our deepest condolences," said spokesman Dimtri Peskov, addressing the Russian families. The TASS news agency reported that the former Russian pair skater Inna Volyanskaya, born in 1966, had been on board. She most recently worked as a coach at a club in Washington.

The section of the river where the divers are searching for victims of the accident is about 2.5 meters deep and dark and murky. Pieces of ice are floating on it, Donnelly explained. The search would probably take several days.

The passenger plane is said to have broken into several pieces when it collided with the helicopter and then crashed into the river - emergency services were searching for survivors among the wreckage.

(Bild: APA/2025 Getty Images)

(Bild: APA/AFP)

"Gloomy mood at the scene"
Helpers are becoming more pessimistic about finding survivors of the plane crash with every passing second: A CNN correspondent, citing a representative of the authorities, revealed that a gloomy mood prevails among the response teams. "It feels [...] like we're moving from a 'search and rescue' operation to a recovery operation," reported a CNN reporter on the ground. So far, only several bodies have been pulled from the river.

On Wednesday evening at around 9 pm (local time), the Bombardier CRJ700 collided with a US Army UH-60 Black Hawk from Sikorsky Aircraft, which was on a training flight with three soldiers on board. Washington D.C. police said they received calls at 8:53 p.m. about "an airplane crash over the Potomac River". All landings and take-offs at the airport were suspended after the incident.

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