Multiple victims of the Washington DC plane crash were associated with US figure skating, Team USA pair skater Luke Wang has confirmed.
“Praying for all those on the flight from Wichita to D.C. Among the passengers were skatters and coaches. Absolutely heartbreaking,” Wang wrote in a post on X.
In an interview on Sky News, a man who was not identified confirmed that his wife, daughter and her best friend, were on board the flight and had been in Wichita, Kansas, for the US Figure Skating Championship which were held in the city between January 20 and 26.
Many of those competing remained in Kansas to take part in the national Development Camp, Wang told the Wichita Star Eagle.
Team USA ice dancer Ethan Peal also tweeted: “I am in shock. Praying for families and my skating community.”
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Two of the people on board the American Airlines flight have been named as Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, they were the 1994 World Figure Skating Championship pairs winners.
The Russian couple married in August 1995 and settled in Connecticut in 1998. They had a son, Maxim, in August 2001.
Russian news agencies have said that there were multiple passengers on board who were Russian immigrants or the children of emigre.
TASS named another victim as legendary Soviet Union figure skater Inna Volyanskaya.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the midair collision occurred around 9 p.m. EST when a regional jet that had departed from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military Blackhawk helicopter while on approach to an airport runway. The helicopter was on a training flight, an official told the Associated Press.
The precise number of victims is unclear. American Airlines says 60 passengers and 4 crew members were on the plane. Three soldiers were onboard the helicopter, an Army official said.
“I can’t say anything about the rescue operation right now,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said as reporters continued to press for updates on the passengers.
She also declined to comment on the condition of aircraft, which remains submerged in the Potomac River.
Asked if there are any survivors, Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly responded: “We don’t know yet. But we’re working.”
This is a breaking story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
