The skaters, getting back from a camp in Kansas, had been among the many 64 passengers on the aircraft that crashed after a midair collision with a US Military helicopter close to Washington, DC.
The US determine skating physique has confirmed that a number of skaters had been on an American Airways regional passenger aircraft that crashed close to Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport in Virginia.
The aircraft, with 64 passengers and crew, was en path to Washington, DC, from Wichita, Kansas, when it collided midair with a US Military helicopter late on Wednesday.
US Determine Skating mentioned on Thursday that athletes, coaches and relations had been getting back from the Nationwide Improvement Camp held together with the US Determine Skating Championships in Kansas.
“We’re devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and maintain the victims’ households intently in our hearts,” it mentioned in an announcement.
Officers haven’t mentioned how many individuals died within the accident however have urged there could also be no survivors.
In the meantime, Russian state media reported earlier that ice-skating coaches and former world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov had been amongst these on board the aircraft.
Shishkova and Naumov, who had been married, gained the world championship in pairs determine skating in 1994.
Their son, Maxim, additionally a skater, may have been on the aircraft, Russia’s TASS and RIA information businesses reported.
Inna Volyanskaya, a former skater who competed for the Soviet Union, was additionally reported to have been on board, TASS mentioned. She was a coach on the Washington Determine Skating Membership, in accordance with its web site.
An American Airways regional passenger jet and a US Military Black Hawk helicopter crashed into the Potomac River after a midair collision close to Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport, officers mentioned.
