Good Morning Britain viewers were left in absolute shock as host Kate Garraway halted the live broadcast to deliver crushing “breaking” news.
In a heart-wrenching segment of the ITV breakfast programme on Thursday, January 30, anchors Kate and Richard Madeley had the grim task of informing their audience about a catastrophic incident that unfolded in the skies above Washington DC, where a plane collided with a helicopter and both plummeted into the Potomac River below.
The grim details were shared by Kate: “This is what you are waking up to this morning, some breaking news that happened in the last few hours. An American Airlines passenger jet has crashed into a US Army Black Hawk helicopter.”
She further disclosed to her shocked audience: “The jet was reportedly carrying 60 passengers and 4 crew members, while three US Army soldiers were on board the helicopter.”
Richard then took over to describe the tragic aftermath: “This mid-air collision happened near Washington Ronald Reagan airport and a massive search and rescue operation is currently underway in the river and it has now been reported that 18 bodies have been recovered from the crash, mostly from that river and no survivors have been found so far.”
Kate Garraway paused the live ITV show to announce some ‘breaking’ news. (Image: ITV)
As live footage from Washington DC flashed across the screen, it was swiftly followed by a cross to North America correspondent Noel Phillips who was ready to give further live updates all the way from New York City, reports .
The devastating news prompted a swift and emotional reaction from viewers online, many choosing to express their sorrow with a trail of crying emojis, indicating their stunned disbelief at the tragic event.
Another viewer took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express their shock, claiming: “Nobody would survive, there was a huge explosion and the plane fell into the freezing river so even if someone survived the blast they wouldn’t have lasted long at all in the ice cold water #gmb.”
Kate Garraway announced the news (Image: (Image: GMB))
A GMB fan commented on the fragility of life, expressing: “Life is just fragile,you just never know when it will be your last day in this world, we have to be grateful everyday,life is just fragile,i hope they are survivors #gmb.” (sic)
Meanwhile, President has been briefed on the “terrible accident” and is keeping a close eye on developments.
“May God Bless their souls,” he stated. “Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders. On TruthSocial, his own social media platform, Trump has also voiced concerns about the cause of the tragedy. “This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!” (sic)
Good Morning Britian airs weekdays 6am on ITV and ITVX.