Russian figure skaters Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov: Married couple on board plane that smashed into US Army helicopter

Shishkova and Naumov won the world championship in pairs figure skating in 1994. Russian state-run TASS news agency reported this morning (Thursday 30 January) that they were on board the doomed flight, citing a source.

If confirmed they would be the first named victims in the tragedy. An American Airlines regional passenger jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed into the Potomac River after a mid-air collision near Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night (29 January), officials said.

The collision happened on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport around 9pm local time, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement to CBS News. Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority president Jack Potter says 19 aircraft in the air were diverted away from Reagan to Dulles International Airport nearby. He says the response teams are in a rescue mode, and they will stay in a rescue mode.

A number of bodies are reported to have been recovered, but there is no official update on casualties. According to a report in the US, at least 18 bodies have been recovered by emergency services. Citing a police official, CBS News added no survivors have yet been found.

The CEO of American Airlines has expressed his "deep sorrow" about the collision in a video which has been posted to the airline's website. Robert Isom starts by briefing on a "serious accident" as he confirms details of the aircraft, the 60 passengers and the four crew members on board.

Isom says the airline is coordinating with local, state and federal authorities and "cooperating fully" with the National Transportation Safety Board investigation. "Anything we can do, we are doing," Isom adds, noting that American Airlines has sent a team to Washington DC and he too will be traveling there.