US mid-air collision: Officials expect no survivors, more than 40 bodies recovered

We will provide necessary assistance to the families of the Chinese victims as they deal with the incident,

the spokesperson added

China expresses deep grief and condolences over the lives lost. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims,

a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement on Friday

Our investigators are continuing to pull all that information, their personnel records, their files, where they were at, whether they were fatigued. All that information will be part of that investigative process,

Brice Banning, a senior aviation accident investigator, said at the briefing

Unfortunately, two Chinese nationals have lost their lives according to preliminary verification of the victims,

the spokesperson said

Thomas Bachpresident

On behalf of the IOC, and personally, I extend our heartfelt sympathies to all those affected, which we understand may include Olympians, young athletes, and their support staff.” ... Praying for all those on the flight from Wichita to D.C. Among the passengers were skaters and coaches. Absolutely heartbreaking.”

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach on Thursday said ... In a post on X, Luke Wang, the U.S. junior figure skating national champion for 2023–24, wrote

The embassy expresses its deep condolences to all the victims and expresses its deep condolences to the families. The embassy has asked the US side to verify the relevant situation and formally inform the Chinese side of the situation,

the embassy spokesperson said in a statement

Dmitry Peskovkremlin spokesperson Dmitry

This sad information is confirmed…our other compatriots were also there…bad news from Washington today.”

When asked to comment about the reports of the Russian skaters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters

It just could have been."

Asked if the crash was caused by diversity hiring, he said

Donald Trumppresident

Sadly, there are no survivors,

US President Donald Trump said at a news conference at the White House on Thursday

Tara Lipinskipopular color commentators

We are all hurting today,

Former skaters and popular color commentators Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir opened the European Figure Skating Championships on Thursday with a tribute to the victims ... Weir said

But right now, we can't speculate on anything that may have been reported in the media until we get the opportunity to validate and understand how it impacts the investigation,

he said

We look at facts on our investigation and that will take some time,

she said

When you find out you know some of the people on the plane, it's an even bigger blow,

she said