AT LEAST 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River after an American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington DC, officials said today.

Crews were still searching for other casualties but did not believe there were any other survivors, which would make it the deadliest United States air crash in nearly 24 years.

“We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” said John Donnelly, the fire chief in the nation’s capital. “We don’t believe there are any survivors.”