Figure skater among crash victims: "Terrible tragedy"

Figure skater among crash victims: "Terrible tragedy" dpa • 2 hours • 3 minutes reading time On the morning after the crash, helpers searched for survivors and dead in Washington. Spencer Lane posted a photo from the plane on Instagram before the plane took off from Wichita to Washington. However, the figure skating teenager, other young athletes, parents and coaches did not arrive at the airport in the US capital. After a collision with a military helicopter, the plane crashed into the Potomac River in Washington. None of the 67 people on board the plane and helicopter survived, according to the devastating assessment of the fire department. Yevgeniya Shishkova and Vadim Naumow were among the victims of the crash. According to initial findings, 14 people from the figure skating group who were flying back to Washington from the US championships and a youth camp died. That's what Doug Zeghibe, the head of a skating club in Boston, in which Spencer Lane is also active, says. In addition to the young man, his teammate Jinna Han and the mothers of the two died. Russian ex-world champions Shishkova and Naumow among the victims And two former figure skating stars are also among the victims: former pair skaters Yevgeniya Shishkova and Vadim Naumow, who won World Championship gold for Russia in 1994, also wanted to return to Boston via Washington. They had been employed there as coaches in the club since 2017, and their son Maxim, who had competed in the US championships in Wichita a few days earlier, was also waiting there. "This is a very terrible tragedy," said Zeghibe, whose voice faltered several times in front of journalists. The sports official describes that the figure skating community in America is very closely networked. After many nightly phone calls, he was able to report that in addition to the six dead from his club, eight other figure skaters had also died. It was initially unclear whether they were athletes, coaches or family members. Kremlin also reports on former world champions who died The fact that six young people and coaches from his club died is a "terrible" number, he said. But "somehow I'm glad that it's only six," he added. Russian media had previously reported that Shishkova and Naumov had died in Washington. A spokesman for the Kremlin in Moscow also confirmed that Russians were among the victims. Fire service does not expect any survivors According to official estimates, all 67 passengers on the commercial plane and helicopter died in the accident. "At this point in time, we do not believe there are any survivors," said fire chief John Donnelly. The rescue work on the Potomac River, into which the plane crashed after the collision, continued the morning after the crash. "We are shocked by this unspeakable tragedy and our hearts go out to the families of the victims," ​​said the statement from the American Figure Skating Association. The world association ISU said in a statement that the skating world was "deeply shocked". "It breaks our hearts to learn that figure skaters were on board along with their families, friends and coaches." Second plane crash for US figure skaters The International Olympic Committee also expressed its condolences. "Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and their loved ones in this incredibly difficult time," said IOC President Thomas Bach in a statement. "We have lost family members," said Doug Zeghibe of the Skating Club of Boston. He is certain that this tragedy will have a long-lasting impact on his club and on US figure skating. There had already been a plane crash in 1961 in which the entire American figure skating team died in Belgium. Back then, too, athletes from Boston were among the victims, as Zeghibe described.