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Dark and icy waters make search efforts difficult

WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES - JANUARY 30: A police boat patrols the water and guards the crime scene after an American Airlines plane collided in midair with a military helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. United States on January 30, 2025. 'A PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet collided in midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. local time,' the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement. (Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Kyle Mazza
/
Anadolu via Getty Images
WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES - JANUARY 30: A police boat patrols the water and guards the crime scene after an American Airlines plane collided in midair with a military helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. United States on January 30, 2025. 'A PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet collided in midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. local time,' the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement. (Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)

John Donnelly, the chief of Washington D.C.'s Fire and EMS, said at an overnight press conference that the first alert came in at 8:48 p.m. and responders arrived 10 minutes later.

He said there are 300 responders working on-scene and described it as a "highly complex operation." He said the conditions are "extremely rough" and said the cold and windy conditions are making it difficult.

Donnelly said the water is about eight feet deep and icy. Temperatures hovered around 36 degrees Fahrenheit overnight, according to NOAA's National Ocean Service.

"So it's just dangerous and hard to work in. And because there's not a lot of lights, you're out there searching every square inch of space to see if you can find anybody. Divers are doing the same thing in the water. The water is dark. It is murky. And that is a very tough condition for them to dive in."

Copyright 2025 NPR

Russell Lewis
As NPR's Southern Bureau chief, Russell Lewis covers issues and people of the Southeast for NPR — from Florida to Virginia to Texas, including West Virginia, Kentucky, and Oklahoma. His work brings context and dimension to issues ranging from immigration, transportation, and oil and gas drilling for NPR listeners across the nation and around the world.