She was due to land 'in 20 minutes': the last text message from her partner a few minutes before the plane crash in the United States

On the night of Wednesday to Thursday, an American airliner crashed into a helicopter over Washington. On board the two planes were 60 passengers, four crew members and three soldiers.

Hamaad Raza received a last message from his wife a few minutes before the tragedy. “She texted me that they'd be landing in 20 minutes,” he tells WUSA from the Washington airport.

But he quickly realized there was a problem when his response couldn't be “delivered” to his girlfriend. “That's when I realized something was going on,” he said, “60~/em>

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Extremely difficult conditions

The rescue conditions were particularly difficult. According to a police official quoted by CBS, at least 18 bodies, with no survivors, have already been recovered. Rescue operations began Thursday morning in complicated conditions in the Potomac River.

“The water is dark, murky, and it's very difficult to dive in those conditions,” laments Washington Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief John A. Donnelly. Sr, quoted by CNN. “The river is a big black spot at night, without any lights except for a few luminous buoys.” He adds that the operations could take < strong>several days.

The plane, broken into pieces, and the helicopter are in the waters of the river, close to each other.

60 passengers on board

According to initial information provided by the FAA, a PSA Bombardier aircraft collided at medium altitude with a Sikorsky H-60 ​​helicopter “in training” while approaching the airport. Reagan.

The latter is located on the border of Washington and the Potomac River. In total, 67 people were involved in this crash: 60 passengers, four crew members and three military personnel.