Former world champion Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were among the passengers on the American Airlines plane that crashed in Washington D.C. on January 29, the Kremlin and state media have confirmed.
According to US Figure Skating – the governing body for figure skating in the United States – several members of its skating community were on board the regional passenger plane, with state-run Russian news agency TASS naming Evgenia and Vadim among the passengers.
The American Airlines flight collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter around 9 pm local time near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, with both plunging into the Potomac River.
The plane was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members on its journey from Wichita, Kansas when it crashed into the helicopter, which was carrying three soldiers.
According to reports, 19 bodies have been recovered from the "icy" water so far as rescuers continue to search the wreckage and surrounding river in "extremely rough" conditions, according to emergency services.
Officials have not yet said how many people died in the accident but have suggested that there may be no survivors.
US Figure Skating confirmed that athletes, coaches, and family members were on board as they returned from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the US Figure Skating Championships.
It added in a statement: "We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available."
As well as Evgenia and her husband Vadim – who are both ice skating coaches – reports suggest that their son Maxim – who is also a skater – may have also been on the plane as his name was listed on the US Figure Skating Championships website as a competitor.
Maxim had been competing at the event in Wichita, Kansas from 20-26 January. Inna Volyanskaya, a former skater and now a coach at the Washington Figure Skating Club, is also reported to have been on board the plane, according to TASS.
Radio communications released between the air traffic control tower and the Black Hawk showed the helicopter crew knew the American Airlines plane was on approach to land at Reagan before the midair collision.
President Donald Trump shared a statement as the Pentagon announced it was launching an investigation into the crash. He said: "I have been fully briefed on the terrible accident which just took place at Reagan National Airport. May God Bless their souls."
He also took to his Truth Social platform and suggested that the crash could have been prevented. He posted: "The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time.
"It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn't the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn't the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane."
He added: "This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!"