The American Airlines regional jet that collided mid-air with a Blackhawk helicopter Wednesday night was at least partially submerged beneath the Potomac River, according to media reports.
A Washington D.C. law enforcement source “painted a really grim picture” of what they saw on the ground to CNN Wednesday night, telling a correspondent that “at least part of the plane is underwater."
“We don't know exactly how much of it they have,” CNN’s Gabe Cohen said. “They have divers on the way to the scene. They are really frantically searching for survivors at the moment.”
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Cohen told viewers that not only is the area around the Potomac filled with “dozens and dozens of law enforcement vehicles” but there are also “officers on one of the bridges in the area shining flashlights into the water, just looking for any signs of anyone who might have come off the aircraft.”
The passenger plane was carrying roughly 60 passengers and four crew on board, CNN reported. CNN’s Pete Muntean reported that the Blackhawk helicopter was carrying three members of the U.S. military. No senior officials were on the helicopter.
A video circulating social media and news outlets appears to show the moment of the collision, which sparked a mid-air fireball.
Watch the clip below or at this link.