A search and rescue operation is under way after a passenger plane and a military helicopter crashed over a major river in Washington DC.
The American Airlines flight, with 60 passengers and four crew on board, was landing at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when the mid-air collision took place.
The military aircraft had three soldiers on board.
Washington crash latest: Follow updates as rescue continues
Emergency responders in the Potomac River. Pic: Andrew Harnik/Getty
There are multiple fatalities, according to a source cited by the Associated Press news agency, despite officials at a news conference not announcing any deaths.
The precise number of reported victims remains unclear as rescue crews continue to search the Potomac River.
US Figure Skating, the national governing body for the sport in the US, said in a statement that several members of its skating community were on the passenger plane.
Around 300 responders, inflatable boats and multiple helicopters are being used as part of the search and rescue operation.
Pic: Andrew Harnik/Getty
In a statement late on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump thanked first responders for their “incredible work”, and said he was “monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise”.
He added: “May God Bless their souls.”
Vice president JD Vance also encouraged followers on the social media to “say a prayer for everyone involved”.
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‘I need you to land’ – audio from crash
Kansas senator Roger Marshall added that “when one person dies it’s a tragedy, but when many, many, many people die it’s an unbearable sorrow”.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport would be closed until at least 4pm UK time.
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Fire chief updates on rescue operation after crash
The agency said the mid-air crash occurred around 9pm local time when a regional jet that had departed from Wichita, Kansas, collided with the military helicopter that was on a training flight, while on approach to an airport runway.
It occurred in some of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspace in the world, just over three miles south of the White House and the US Capitol.
Read more:
Washington plane crash: What we know so far
In audio from the air traffic control tower around the time of the crash, a controller is heard asking the helicopter: “PAT25 do you have the CRJ in sight”, in reference to the passenger aircraft.
“Tower did you see that?” another pilot is heard saying seconds after the apparent collision.
