At least 30 bodies have been recovered from Washington DC's Potomac River in the United States, after an American Airlines flight collided in mid-air with a Black Hawk helicopter late Wednesday.

The jet was coming from Wichita, Kansas and carrying 60 passengers and four crew members when it crashed near Ronald Reagan National Airport. Three soldiers were in the helicopter.

So far there have been no survivors, even as clues have emerged about some of the victims of the collision.

US Figure Skating, the organization overseeing the sport nationwide, confirmed that “several members” of its community were aboard the American Airlines flight which collided with the military helicopter.

“These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas,” the organization said in a statement to CNN.

“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.”

In Russia, local media reported that ice skating coaches and former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were on the plane.

Inna Volyanskaya, a former skater for the Soviet Union, was equally on board the flight, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

As many as 15 people on the flight may have been involved in figure skating, an unnamed source told the Reuters news agency. (Based on reports by BBC and CNN)