Key points
- Asra, 26, texted her husband she will be “landing in 20 mins”
- Trump says “no survivors” from Washington air crash
- Passenger jet collided with a military helicopter on Wednesday
ISLAMABAD: Asra Hussain Raza, a young 26 years old Pakistani woman with dreams of improving public health were among the 67 victims of the deadly midair collision between a passenger jet and a US military helicopter near Washington, according to Reuters news agency.
United States authorities have expressed fear that there are likely no survivors following an American Airlines passenger jet carrying 64 people collided in midair with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy waters of Washington’s Potomac River.
AFP reported that US President Donald Trump on Thursday also confirmed there were no survivors after a military helicopter collided midair with a passenger plane carrying 64 people.
“I speak to you this morning in an hour of anguish for our nation,” Trump said at the White House after the crash in Washington.
“The work has now shifted to a recovery mission. Sadly, there are no survivors. This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capital.”
“We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” Washington DC Fire Chief John Donnelly told a press conference at Reagan National Airport.
“Landing in about 20 minutes”
According to Reuters news agency, Asra Raza, 26, sent a text to her husband, Hamaad, from the doomed flight as they approached Washington, saying she would land in about 20 minutes.
Hamaad Raza, 25, who was waiting at the airport for her arrival, never received another message, his father, Hashim Raza, Reuters reported.
According to Reuters the couple met at Indiana University Bloomington, where she studied corporate finance and was a straight-A student.
Asra later earned her master’s degree in public health from Columbia University and got a job with a consulting group in Washington, with the ultimate goal of working for the government to improve public health, Reuters cited her father-in-law as saying.
Pakistan expresses sadness
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed sadness over the tragic midair accident between a passenger plane and a military helicopter in Washington DC.
Deeply saddened by the tragic news of a mid-air accident between a passenger plane and a military helicopter in Washington D.C. Our thoughts and prayers are with @realDonaldTrump and the American people at this difficult time. Our hearts go out to the families of those who have…
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) January 30, 2025
In a post on his social media account, the premier said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with President Donald Trump and the American people at this difficult time.”
Shehbaz Sharif extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of those who have lost their loved ones and prayed for the safety of the survivors.
Pitch dark and floating ice
Hundreds of rescuers were rushed to the scene but found themselves battling darkness and floating ice through the night. Some of the debris was found a mile downriver.
Among those on the airliner were several US skaters and coaches, US Figure Skating said. Officials in Moscow also confirmed the presence of Russian couple Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the 1994 world pairs title.
The collision — the first major crash in the United States since 2009 when 49 people were killed near Buffalo, New York — occurred late evening on Wednesday as the airliner came into land at Reagan National Airport after a routine flight from Wichita, Kansas. With input from AFP, Radio Pakistan and local media.
