Plane crash in Washington

Trump claims diversity is behind the crash

President Donald Trump begins the ongoing press conference on the Washington plane crash by announcing a minute of silence for the victims.

– Our prayers are with you, he says.

Trump says his administration has “strong views” about what happened.

– Over the years, we have seen things like this happen, and then the investigations do not yield results. We are going to find out how this tragedy could happen and make sure that nothing like this ever happens again, he says.

He then accuses his Democratic representatives Barack Obama and Joe Biden of lowering the standard for aviation safety. He says that diversity initiatives are behind the recruitment of people with “severe intellectual disabilities”.

– What evidence have you seen that diversity initiatives are behind it? asks a journalist.

– They may have, Donald Trump replies and continues:

– We are going to investigate what happened. We have to recruit the very best and the brightest to be air traffic controllers.

A total of 67 people were on board the plane and the helicopter. No one is believed to have survived.

Transportation Secretary: Crash could have been prevented

The plane crash in Washington DC could have been prevented and thus avoided. This is what US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says, CNN reports.

At a press conference on Duffy's second day in office, he says that both the plane and the helicopter followed their normal flight patterns before the helicopter is believed to have come in the way of the plane and they collided.

- We are waiting for all the information to be collected, but based on what I have seen so far, do I think this could have been prevented? Absolutely, says Sean Duffy in MSNBC's video from the press conference.

A total of 67 people were on board the plane and the helicopter. No one is believed to have survived, says rescue chief John Donnelly.

Rescue chief: No survivors – there were 67 people on board

No one appears to have survived the plane crash in Washington DC, rescue chief John Donnelly said at a press conference. A total of 67 people were on board the plane and helicopter that crashed early this morning, Swedish time.

– We do not believe there are any survivors of the accident, he says.

So far, more than 28 bodies have been recovered from the river in which both the plane and the helicopter crashed. It is still unclear what caused the collision.