/ Updated
WASHINGTON — Sixty-four people aboard a commercial airliner died Wednesday night after it collided with a military helicopter midair near Reagan Washington National Airport.
Both the American Eagle jet and Army Black Hawk are in the Potomac River. The Black Hawk had three personnel onboard.
The collision occurred shortly before 9 p.m. ET.
Follow live coverage here
President Donald Trump called the deadly collision a “a tragedy of terrible proportions” and said there were no survivors as he addressed reporters in the White House briefing room Thursday morning.
“This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capital and in our nation’s history and a tragedy of terrible proportions as one nation, we grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us so suddenly,” Trump said.
Departures and arrivals boards at Reagan National Airport in Washington late Wednesday.Ting Shen / AFP – Getty ImagesWhat we know about the plane
There were 60 passengers and four crew members on American Eagle Flight 5342, which was traveling from Wichita to Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, just over the Washington line, according to American Airlines.
The crash took place near the airport.
Emergency response units conduct search and rescue operations in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington Airport on Wednesday night.Al Drago / Getty Images
American Airlines said it was in contact with authorities and assisting with response efforts. The company said its concern was “for the passengers and crew on board the aircraft.”
What we know about the helicopter
The Army confirmed that the helicopter was a Black Hawk operating out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the helicopter crew involved in the crash was “fairly experienced” and was doing an “annual proficiency training flight” at the time of the collision.
Hegseth said the three crew members were from the Bravo Company 12th Aviation Battalion at Fort Belvoir, an army base in Virginia that’s about 14 miles away from the airport.
A helicopter searches for survivors in the Potomac River.Alex Brandon / APNo survivors from crash
All passengers and crew on both aircraft are feared dead, Trump said Thursday morning. Dozens of bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River, and the operation has become a major recovery effort.
The flight carried several elite figure skaters from both the U.S. and Russia who were traveling back from a competition in Wichita.
Doug Zeghibe, CEO of The Skating Club of Boston, said 14 skaters returning home from the national development camp in Wichita, Kansas, were killed in the crash.
Of those, six were from The Skating Club of Boston — two coaches, two teenage athletes and the athletes’ mothers. Those six were identified as athlete Jinna Han; Jinna’s mother, Jin Han; athlete Spencer Lane; Spencer’s mother, Christine Lane;