All 60 passengers on American Airlines Flight 5342, the four crew members, and the three passengers of the Black Hawk Sikorsky H-60 that collided with the plane are presumed dead. D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services have recovered and positively identified 55 bodies so far. The plane’s extraction is expected to recover the remaining victims.
The process is likely to take three days as the river’s current has dragged debris down the shoreline. After the plane is recovered, crews will work to recover the Black Hawk. Equipment will remain on site until a tentative deadline of Feb. 12.
Currently, the Potomac River that is north of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge is part of a safety zone that the U.S. Coast Guard is telling locals to avoid. It remains to be seen when it will open again. They recommend that if people find wreckage, they should not touch it but call 911 instead.
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This recovery effort so far resulted in one Metropolitan Police officer requiring transport to a nearby hospital to receive a check-up. Crews conducted dive operations and used side-scan sonar and aerial vehicles in their search efforts.
Black boxes from the airplane and helicopter were already recovered. Officials have not revealed the cause of the crash as of Monday morning.
