The U.S. Determine Skating Group confirmed a number of members of the skating neighborhood have been among the many victims after the midair collision of an American Airways passenger flight and a U.S. Military Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River in D.C. on Wednesday evening.
By Thursday morning, officers confirmed there have been no survivors.
The group was leaving Wichita, Kansas following the U.S. Determine Skating Championships and Nationwide Improvement Camps.
“To the perfect of our information, 14 skaters that have been returning residence from the Nationwide Improvement Camp at Wichita, Kansas placed on by U.S. Determine Skating have been misplaced within the aircraft crash at Washington D.C.,” mentioned Doug Zeghibe, CEO of the Skating Membership of Boston.
RELATED: 14 determine skaters amongst victims of DC aircraft crash
Zeghibe mentioned six of the victims have been from the Skating Membership of Boston, together with teenage athletes, their mothers and a married set of coaches.
“They have been our future, so it was largely actually promising future skaters that handed away and their mother and father,” mentioned Anthony Ponomarenko, a San Jose native {and professional} determine skater.
Twenty-four-year-old Ponomarenko says he knew the married Boston coaches that have been on the flight and was pals with their son who was not on the flight.
He was in Kansas competing within the Nationwide Determine Skating Championships, even snapping a candid photograph with different opponents from the rink.
DC PLANE CRASH VICTIMS: What we learn about these on AA Flight 5342, Military Black Hawk
He woke as much as a frantic name from his mother and father at 3 a.m. on Thursday.
“At first, the media retailers talked about an entire bunch of names, and I used to be certainly one of them, so my mother and father referred to as me panicked, considering I might have probably been on that flight,” he mentioned.
Ponomarenko had already left for Ontario by Monday when his time on the championships was over.
“It was stunning. I actually did not know how one can go about it. I did not sleep from the second my mother and father referred to as me, till… I did not sleep,” he mentioned. “So it was powerful. After which to seek out out who was really on that flight, it was fairly heartbreaking.”
RELATED: What to learn about Military helicopter and American Airways jet that collided over Washington
Kristi Yamaguchi, Bay Space native, Olympic determine skating gold medalist and two-time world champion, launched this assertion on X: “My coronary heart breaks for my skating neighborhood and all who’re concerned within the aircraft crash. An excessive amount of continues to be unknown, sending love and prayers.”
Ponomarenko says they’re planning to honor the lives misplaced on this crash on the World Determine Skating Championships in Boston.
As of Thursday morning, that’s nonetheless scheduled for March 25 to March 30.
The U.S. Determine Skating Group launched this assertion on Thursday morning: “U.S. Determine Skating can affirm that a number of members of our skating neighborhood have been sadly aboard American Airways Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday night in Washington, D.C. These athletes, coaches, and relations have been returning residence from the Nationwide Improvement Camp held along with the U.S. Determine Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas. We’re devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and maintain the victims’ households intently in our hearts. We’ll proceed to watch the scenario and can launch extra info because it turns into accessible.”
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