Four days after the collision in the skies over Washington between a commercial airliner and a military helicopter, which claimed the lives of 67 people, 55 bodies had been recovered and identified from the icy waters of the Potomac River by Sunday, according to authorities.
"New bodies have been located and recovered. So far, 55 victims of this accident have been identified," said the head of the US capital's fire department, John Donnelly, during a press conference yesterday afternoon (local time).
"We will remain here and continue the search until we recover them all," he promised. "We believe we will be able to recover all the victims."
"We expect to find more bodies by recovering the fuselage" of the fatal aircraft, he clarified.
After meticulous preparation, search teams are preparing to begin the operation to recover the largest part of the passenger plane's wreckage today.
A ship equipped with a crane had taken up position near the shore yesterday, an AFP photojournalist noted.
More than 200 vessels are participating in the large-scale operation, which is now entering its fifth day, according to authorities.
Earlier yesterday, relatives of victims gathered on the banks of the Potomac River, near the spot where the plane and helicopter collided, where they left white roses.
"The lack of staff in air traffic control has been a major problem for years," new Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy admitted on Fox News yesterday, promising to hire "brilliant" professionals, "intelligent and talented," in the control towers.
American media revealed on Thursday that the control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was not even at its "normal" level of staffing when the tragedy unfolded.
Republican President Donald Trump, for his part, chose to blame—without any evidence—the policies promoting diversity in the American civil service for the accident and the shortage of personnel among air traffic controllers.
Investigators from the Federal Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), an independent agency, hope to release a preliminary conclusion on the causes of the plane crash within 30 days. Their full investigation will take up to a year to complete.
