Plane hits helicopter mid-air

[Anchor]

In the United States, a passenger plane carrying over 60 people crashed into a river after colliding with a military helicopter near Washington, D.C.

Survivors have not yet been confirmed.

Just before the accident, there was a control tower instruction for the helicopter to evade, but it was not executed.

First, Hong Jin-ah reports.

[Report]

The passenger plane, which was flying low to land at the airport, suddenly began to fall while creating a massive fireball.

It collided with a military helicopter in mid-air.

[Abadi Ismail/Witness: "I heard two bombs. It's not like any bombs I've heard before. Something I've never heard before in my life."]

The accident involved a small passenger plane that had departed from Kansas and was heading to Washington.

Around 9 PM local time on January 29th, it collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter in training while approaching the airport along the river.

Just before the accident, the control tower asked if the military helicopter could see the passenger plane ahead and requested it to evade, but the collision could not be prevented.

[Control Tower Communication: "PAT 25, do you see the CRJ in sight? Pat 25, pass behind the CRJ."]

30 seconds after the communication, the collision occurred.

Immediately after the accident, the control tower's urgent message guiding other aircraft to nearby airports was also included in the communication.

[Control Tower Communication: "(Tower, did you see that?) I need you to land. I need you to land immediately. Can you go to Baltimore?"]

The passenger plane that crashed into the nearby Potomac River had 60 passengers and 4 crew members on board, while the military helicopter had 3 soldiers.

While the official casualty count has not been released, NBC reported that more than 30 bodies have been recovered from the scene.

As a result of the accident, all takeoffs and landings at Ronald Reagan National Airport were completely halted.

Reagan National Airport is adjacent to the capital Washington and is considered one of the busiest airports in the United States.

This is KBS News, Hong Jin-ah.