Multiple bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River in Washington after the collision between a passenger jet and a military helicopter, US media reported on Thursday.
CBS News, quoting a police official, said "at least 18 bodies were recovered", while NBC said "more than a dozen" had been found, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
The plane was approaching Reagan National Airport at around 9pm, local time, after flying from Wichita, Kansas, when the collision happened.
American Airlines subsidiary PSA Airlines, which operated the Bombardier regional jet, said there were 60 passengers and four crew members on board the aircraft.
A US Army official said the helicopter involved was a Black Hawk carrying three soldiers, with their status currently unknown. They had been on a "training flight," a separate military spokesperson said in a statement.
A massive search and rescue operation was in progress, with divers visible in the glare of powerful lights as they plunged into the snow-lined Potomac to scour the wreckage of both aircraft.
"We're going to be out there as long as it takes, and we're obviously trying to get to people as soon as possible, but we are going to recover our fellow citizens," Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters.
