US authorities announced today that they have found the remains of all 67 victims of the mid-air collision of an "American Airlines" flight and a "Black Hawk" military helicopter near "Ronald Reagan" airport in Washington, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA, citing an official statement from the authorities.
According to the statement, the remains of only one of the victims have not yet been positively identified.
The news was announced today as work continued to remove the wreckage of the crashed plane from the Potomac River, where the machine crashed last Wednesday evening as a result of a collision with a helicopter while making an approach to the airport runway. All 67 people on board the two aircraft died.
Emergency crews are working to remove the cockpit and other parts of the plane from the river. Officials said their work could depend on wind and tides at the crash site. As of noon today, crews were working to lift another large part of the plane.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said it did not plan to release any additional information from the scene.
Earlier in the operation, authorities said they expected to recover the remains of all those killed. Right now, their work is focused first on the crashed plane. Later this week, they will begin removing the wreckage of the crashed Black Hawk military helicopter.
Colonel Francis B. Pera of the Army Corps of Engineers said rescue teams were able to pull one of the plane's two jet engines and large pieces of its outer skin from the river yesterday. Crews are also working to remove the other wing of the plane, which flew from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington.