we re were saying >> she texted me. we were saying that they were landing in 20 minutes. >> well, experts are trying to explore what might have happened, with reports suggesting the plane was split in two. >> also this morning, immigration raids on the rise. gb news finds out how many are exploiting an eu loophole to enter britain. >> officer, have you got a work visa. >> for six months? yeah. >> for six months? yeah. >> six months. visit visa. yes. okay. right. you're not allowed to work with that. okay. so at the moment. okay. you're under arrest. >> so i can confirm today that this government supports a third runway at heathrow and is inviting proposals to be brought forward by the summer. >> the chancellor announces vast expansions of london's airports. but with decades before anything opens the public, could it become another hs2? we'll be putting that to rachel reeves herself just before 9 am. >> a shocking surge in

shoplifting. 2000 incidents a day as business owners cry out for help. >> the greatest britain remembered 60 years today since winston churchill was laid to rest. >> after three days lying in state, churchill's body was taken along the thames and through the streets of london in military procession. it was the biggest state funeral in history. >> and in sport, where a topsy turvy evening in the final night of the new champions league opening phase. although liverpool lost. they toppled 36 teams and qualify for the last 16 with arsenal and aston villa. whilst manchester city have a knockout match to look forward to next month, as do celtic. >> hello there, it's a cold start this morning. plenty of frost and also some icy stretches, but there is going to be plenty of sunshine. stay tuned and i'll be here with all the details. >> it's just gone. 6:00 i'm stephen dixon. >> i'm ellie costello, and this is gb news breakfast.

>> well, we start with breaking news this morning and plane crash horror in washington, dc. >> yes, a passenger jet with 64 people on board has crashed into the potomac river after colliding with a us army helicopter. >> well, 19 bodies have so far been recovered. the coastguard, police, divers, rescue and ambulance units are still at the scene. >> us president donald trump has been posting on his social media platform, truth social. he's condemned air traffic control at reagan national airport, saying that this is a bad situation that this is a bad situation that looks like it could have been prevented. it's absolutely horrific situation. as you can imagine, an extensive search and rescue operation is taking

place, but it is below zero in washington. the potomac is freezing over and it is pitch black. it's 2:00 in the morning in washington, dc. >> all right, well, let's get the very latest. we've been holding a news conference in arlington, virginia, and this is what officials have had to say. >> i'm the mayor of washington, d.c. i'm at reagan national airport. i am joined by united states transportation secretary sean duffy, united states senatorjim moran, senator roger senator jim moran, senator roger marshall. i'm jack potter, the ceo of the metropolitan washington airports authority. we are here to brief you on the very tragic events of this evening, where we know a passenger plane coming to the airport here collided with a

military helicopter. our fire department, dc fire and ems, supported by fire departments and police departments from across the washington metropolitan region, are executing a rescue operation in the potomac river. they are working diligently and very dark and cold conditions. cold water to execute this rescue operation. we have had the opportunity to be briefed by american airlines officials. i'm told that american airlines leadership is on the way to washington as well, and officials are in the airport talking to families. now, we do have a18 hundred number where families should contact us. excuse me, should contact american airlines for more information. and we will be

providing that information shortly. i am going to turn to a number of officials to provide as much information as we can this evening, and we expect to have more frequent briefings at daylight. so with that, i'm going to turn to secretary duffy. >> thank you, mayor bowser. i think for all of us, we want to extend our thoughts and prayers to those individuals who were impacted by the events tonight. their families. we know this is a very difficult time for all of them. i want to join the mayor and everyone here to extend our thank you to the first responders, who again , in very responders, who again, in very difficult situations and environments are out there searching and attempting a rescue tonight. i spoke with president trump and his team in the situation room. i had a

conversation with secretary pete hegseth as well, and then with the kansas delegation and the mayor and others in leadership, as well as governor youngkin from virginia and governor kelly from virginia and governor kelly from kansas. from the department of transportation and faa's perspective, we are going to offer full support to those on the ground, to the mayor, but also to the ntsb, who is going to be conducting the investigation in this matter. we are going to provide all the support that's necessary. mayor. thank you. >> so with that, i want to ask chief john donnelly from dc fire and ems to provide an update. >> good evening everyone. i'm john donnelly, chief of dc fire and ems. this evening at 848, an alert was sounded , initiating alert was sounded, initiating a region, a large regional response to a report of an

aircraft crash on approach to the airport. this response includes, first, the metropolitan washington airports authority fire department, the district of columbia fire department, the metropolitan police department, and the us. park police. to respond into the area and to sort that out. at 858, the first units arrived on the scene and found an aircraft in the water and began rescue operations. this incident has grown. there's currently about 300 responders working. we have boats from all throughout the region, police and fire boats. we have a mutual aid agreement in washington dc, the national capital region mutual aid agreement administered by the metropolitan washington council of governments, and we are all operating under that. we're operating under that. we're operating under that. we're operating under a unified command. all everybody's together. so we also have requested state police helicopters from maryland. and the coastguard helicopter is working. so this is a state and federal response as well. u.s.

federal response as well. us. coast guard's got some boats in the water as well. so it's a highly complex operation. the conditions out there are extremely rough for the responders. it's cold. they're deaung responders. it's cold. they're dealing with relatively windy conditions and wind is hard out on the river. so they're out there working. we're keeping doing everything we can to keep them safe. and with that, i'm going to turn it back to the mayor. thank you. >> okay. john donnelly, the chief of the fire and emergency services department in washington, dc, and outlining what is underway at the moment, which is a rescue operation with more than 301st responders. the us coastguard involved and describing just how difficult those conditions are. now, this is still a rescue operation. it's worth saying there are about 18 bodies have been recovered so far. not yet. just a recovery operation. but it has to be said things are looking pretty grim at the moment. >> and just a reminder of what

we know so far. an american airlines flight has collided in mid—air with a us military helicopter just above reagan national airport in washington. they have both crashed into the potomac river. freezing conditions, very difficult conditions. as we're hearing so far. local news there reporting at least 19 bodies have been recovered. >> yeah. dear me, let's talk to former advisor to bill clinton, steve gill. excuse me, steve, who joins us now. i mean, this is a hugely difficult situation as we're seeing a federal response to this as well, which is hugely important. >> yeah, and i've flown in and out of reagan airport many, many times. and it is, you know, very in close proximity, obviously, to the capitol. i was there just a week ago for the inauguration, and i'll tell you, it is brutally cold there dealing in dark conditions. i think, as was mentioned, the weather is about

42 degrees, you know, outside. but the weather, you know, in the water is about 37 degrees and starting to freeze over. so apparently the military helicopter carrying three military personnel collided with this american airlines flight carrying 60 passengers, four crew in mid—air. as the pilots were being for the of the helicopter being instructed. can you see the approaching aircraft. early reports are they may have been looking at another aircraft rather than the one that literally was above them. they could not see that one. and as the two collided, there's some video that shows literally a fireball in the in the sky. >> and the conditions that these rescuers are working in. steve, as we just heard, are incredibly complex. we as we just heard,