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Around 300 initial responders are facing difficult weather conditions as they work on a rescue mission in the Potomac River following a collision between an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter, officials reported on Thursday.
“Our fire department, DC fire and EMS, supported by fire departments and police departments from across the metropolitan region are executing a rescue operation in the Potomac River,” Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser said Thursday.
“They are working diligently in very dark, cold conditions – cold water – to execute this rescue operation,” she added.
DC Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly said that “currently about 300 responders are working” from throughout the region, including the US Coast Guard.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the American Airlines jet’s collision with a military helicopter in DC
“The water that we’re operating in is about eight feet deep. There is wind. There are pieces of ice out there. So it’s just dangerous and hard to work in,” Donnelly said.
Bowser noted that her team has been briefed by American Airlines officials and leadership from the company is on the way to Washington.
She said American Airlines officials are in contact with families at the airport.