( MENAFN - IANS) Washington, Jan 30 (IANS) US President Donald trump said that he is monitoring the plane crash that occurred over the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport in Washington.

A frantic search for survivors is underway after a passenger plane collided with a US Army helicopter midair near Reagan National Airport outside of Washington, DC Wednesday night.

Hundreds of responders have removed at least 28 bodies from the icy waters of the Potomac River after a deadly plane crash, according to officials as of Thursday morning.

Multiple 911 callers reported the crash near the river just before 8:55 p.m., according to the Metropolitan Police Department and the District of Columbia Fire and EMS.

As many as 60 passengers and four crew members were aboard American Eagle Flight 5342, and the Black Hawk helicopter was carrying three soldiers. There were no survivors.

A deadly midair collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter near the nation’s capital is bringing renewed focus on the federal agency charged with investigating aviation disasters.

The National Transportation Safety Board says it has recovered two so-called “black boxes” from the American Airlines regional jet, following the deadly collision with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday evening.

Factfinder 12 spoke with a pilot who regularly flies in and out of Reagan National, also called DCA and two aviation attorneys. They all cautioned that it was too early to draw conclusions but provided details on insights and expertise.

The airspace around Washington, D.C., is congested and complex — a combination aviation experts have long worried could lead to catastrophe.

Sixty passengers and four crew members from the plane and three Black Hawk helicopter personnel are feared dead as a recovery mission is underway.

Last year, senators from Virginia and Maryland sounded the alarm over congestion in the skies above Washington.