HM sends condolences to Trump on victims of plane crash

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik has sent a cable of condolences to US President Donald Trump on the victims of the US plane crash near Ronald Reagan Airport. In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan expressed his deep sorrow and grief over the crash, expressing his deepest condolences and sincere feelings of sympathy to the President and all the American people, and the families of the victims. Meanwhile, rescue boats and divers scoured the freezing waters of Washington's Potomac River on Thursday, in an increasingly desperate search for any survivors from a passenger jet carrying 64 people that crashed after colliding midair with a military helicopter. As dawn broke over the crash site and with US media reporting the recovery of multiple bodies, emergency vessels with powerful arc lights and inflatables with diving teams could be seen moving back and forth over a wide area of the river. Nearly 12 hours into the rescue operation, most of which was carried out in pitch darkness, there was no word of any survivors being found. 'We're going to be out there as long as it takes,' Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters. Citing local sources, CBS News said at least 19 bodies had been recovered, while NBC reported 30. US Figure Skating said several athletes, coaches and officials were aboard the flight, while officials in Moscow confirmed married Russian couple Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov – who won the 1994 world pairs title – were on the jet. The Bombardier plane operated by an American Airlines subsidiary, with 60 passengers and four crew on board, was approaching Reagan National Airport at around 9:00 pm after flying from Wichita, Kansas, when the collision happened. US Army officials said the helicopter involved was a Black Hawk carrying three soldiers on a 'training flight.' Both aircraft crashed into the river. — Agencies