As The Death Toll Increases, Rescue Crews Describe The “Horrors” They Witnessed Underwater While Attempting To Recover The Remains Of American Airlines Disaster Victims

The bodies of those killed in last week’s DC aircraft crash are still being sought.
On Wednesday, January 29, a 64-person American Airlines aircraft and an Army chopper carrying three soldiers collided.
Rescue crews are still trying to recover the dead after the two planes crashed into the Potomac River.

Of the 67 fatalities, 55 had been recovered from the water as of this writing.
It has been said that the rescue teams are operating in “tough” conditions.

Matthew Schanck, an international maritime Search and Rescue & Emergency Response Expert, told BBC News, “There’s ice in the river, it’s particularly cold and that makes it very challenging to [rescue] crews.”
“There’s not a lot of time to really try and locate any survivors and rescue them because of the cold.”

One diver from the Metropolitan Police Department had to be taken to the hospital for treatment of a “hypothermia situation” because to the extremely chilly waters.
According to Washington DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly, the diver in issue has since been freed and is “doing fine.”
“We’re happy to report that he’s doing fine, and that that’s the only injury we have the today,” the chief shared, as per NBC News.
He added yesterday (February 2): “For the rest of the day, the salvage crews are continuing to survey the site and get ready for tomorrow.”