55 victims positively identified from Potomac River crash site: Fire chief
At least 55 victims have been positively identified from Wednesday night's midair collision between an American Airlines jet and a military Black Hawk helicopter, Fire Chief John Donnelly of the Washington, D.C., Fire Department said Sunday afternoon.
Donnelly said 11 separate sets of remains were recovered from the water on Saturday but have yet to be positively identified.
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"It is my belief that we're going to recover everyone," Donnelly said.
Col. Francis Pera of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, said crews are scheduled to begin lifting large pieces of the wreckage of both aircraft from the water at dawn on Monday after spending two days surveying the debris field and rehearsing how the recovery of the wreckage will go.
Pera said wreckage will be placed on flatbed trailers and taken to a nearby hanger for investigators to analyze.
Pera said that if crews come upon more human remains, the salvage teams are prepared to pause the operation to facilitate a "dignified recovery" of the victims.