Istanbul - Hours after a military helicopter and a passenger plane collided near Washington, DC, on Wednesday night (29/1), local officials announced a shift from a rescue operation to an evacuation operation, with the assumption that there were no survivors.
“Despite all the efforts that have been made, we are now at a stage where the rescue operation is turning into an evacuation operation,” said Washington DC Fire & Emergency Medical Services Chief John Donnelly on Thursday (1/30).
“At this point, we do not believe there are any survivors in this accident,” he added.
According to Donnelly, rescue teams have recovered 27 bodies from the plane and one body from the helicopter.
"The District Medical Examiner's Office will lead the process of identifying and returning the bodies to their families. We will continue to work to locate all victims and release them to their families," he said.
On Wednesday night, an American Airlines passenger plane collided in mid-air with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Airport, Washington.
The plane carrying 60 passengers and four crew was en route from Kansas, while the helicopter with three military personnel on board was undergoing flight training.
As a result of the collision, the plane crashed into the Potomac River.