CNN β Families were waiting at the airport to welcome home loved ones when their plane, just minutes from landing, collided midair with a military helicopter in a fiery explosion, plunging 67 lives full of promise into the cold, inky waters of the Potomac River. The frantic search for survivors started under the cloak of icy darkness.
By morning, the mission had turned into a slow and somber search for the remains of everyone on board. As of Sunday afternoon, 55 bodies have been identified, DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said, with the search effort hampered by near-zero visibility in the frigid water , sharp pieces of debris and the mangled metal of the wreckage. Days later, dangerous and difficult conditions persist, hindering the careful and deliberate efforts of crews working to recover the bodies of victims trapped deep within the wreckage, beyond the reach of divers.
These sections will need to be removed to retrieve the remaining bodies, Donnelly said. The fuselage was found upside down in three sections in the river, which is about 8 feet deep in some areas. Divers have been using specialized underwater hydraulic rescue tools capable of cutting metal to try to recover as many victims as possible, Hoagland said. The Army Corps of Engineers will start working to remove the remnants of the jet Monday, according to a news release. Then, engineers will switch their focus to the remnants of the Black Hawk helicopter involved in the collision.
They expect to finish removing the wreckage by February 12, the release says. The wreckage of the helicopter was located about yards from the plane debris, according to Hoagland. The crane, used to remove parts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after its collapse last March, will be employed to cut and lift pieces of the airplane. This will allow divers to safely recover additional victims who are pinned inside and extremely difficult to access.
Rescue teams are also on the water using technology such as sonar scanning to continue their search and deploy divers. Additionally, crews will search sewer lines and conduct aerial operations as dive teams work in targeted areas, according to Donnelly.
