The Russian-born ice skating coaches and former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov are confirmed dead in a plane crash in Washington DC.
As per The Guardian, both were returning from a National Development Camp with a group of young skaters.
Shishkova and Naumov, who were a married couple, won the world championships in pairs figure skating in 1994.
The Kremlin confirmed that Shishkova and Naumov, along with several other Russians were on board in a statement, noting, “There were other of our fellow citizens on board. It’s bad news today from Washington. We are sorry and send our condolences to families and friends.”
US media stated that the couple had been residing in the United States since at least 1998, where they worked as coaches and trained young ice skaters.
Over 60 people lost their lives when an American Airlines regional passenger jet collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday.
The crash occurred in the cold Potomac River, near Reagan Washington National Airport.
As news of the crash spread, people from all over the sports world quickly paid their tribute.
The International Skating Union, which oversees figure skating globally, stated that the entire skating community was “deeply shocked by the tragic accident.”
As per the reports, 28 bodies had been recovered from the river so far.
The crash appeared to be the deadliest air disaster in the US in more than 20 years.
