Members of the figure skating community are presumed to have been killed in the plane crash near Reagan International Airport late Wednesday night.
The crash came hours ahead of the European Figure Skating Championships, which honored the victims in a moment of silence before skaters took the ice.
The legendary broadcast duo of Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir were on the call, and before the skating occurred, they both offered emotional tributes.
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“As we come on the air for the European Figure Skating Championships, we are all hurting today. We were absolutely heartbroken at the news that several members of our skating community were among those lost in the tragic plane crash in Washington, D.C., last night,” Weir began.
Weir then read off portions of sentimental statements from U.S. Figure Skating and the International Skating Union.
After a moment of silence, presumably to hold back tears, Lipinski offered her condolences.
“It is unimaginable loss. My heart is completely broken for our skating community, their families and loved ones. My heart is with all of the families affected, and that’s the part I have no words for. It will not do it justice. It is so widespread throughout our skating community. We are such a close-knit family, and I know our skating community will never be the same. But we will always remember them,” Lipinski said.
Weir added, “Our job is to make sure that everyone’s spirit lives on. It’s a tremendous loss that our community feels, and the sorrow that we feel for our tightknit community and the pain that we feel for our friends and colleagues is unimaginable today. My whole heart is with everybody affected by this terrible tragedy – we are so devastated for your loss.”
First responders switched to recovery efforts in the Potomac River after it was believed that there were no survivors. There were 60 passengers and four crew members aboard the American Airlines flight and three soldiers aboard the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.
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Two former Olympians, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, were also believed to be among the victims of the plane crash, the Kremlin confirmed.
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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