US, Russian figure skaters among victims of Washington plane crash

Following the mid-air collision between a civilian airliner and an army helicopter in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday evening, U.S. Figure Skating released a statement saying that several members of its community were aboard the plane that crashed.

“U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C,” the governing body of figure staking in the United States said.

“These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas.“

According to Reuters, as many as 15 people on the flight may have been involved in figure skating. Russian state media claimed that former world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were aboard the plane, as may have been their son, fellow figure skater Maxim.

“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts,” U.S. Figure Skating said. ”We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.”

Arriving in Washington from Wichita, the plane was preparing to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport when it collided with a Black Hawk helicopter at 8:47 p.m. local time. The helicopter was conducting a training flight, according to the Associated Press.

Search and rescue operations are ongoing. As of Thursday morning, at least 30 bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River. A total of 67 people were aboard the two aircraft.