President Trump -- speaking as the bodies of 67 people were pulled from Washington's Potomac River -- on Thursday blamed diversity hires for the midair collision between an airliner and a military helicopter.

Officials confirmed the deaths of all those aboard both aircraft, and also cited pilot error on the helicopter in the nighttime crash. The Chinese Embassy in the United States said two Chinese citizens were among the victims.

Trump opend fire at what he said were left-wing diversity practices under his Democratic predecessors Joe Biden and Barack Obama that he claimed kept out good employees at the Federal Aviation Administration.

"I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first," Trump said.

"They actually came out with a directive: 'too white.' And we want the people that are competent."

Wreckage of the Bombardier jet operated by an American Airlines subsidiary protruded from the river surface, surrounded by emergency vessels and diving teams. It had been carrying 64 people.

The army Blackhawk helicopter, which had three soldiers aboard, was also in the river.

"We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation," Washington Fire Chief John Donnelly said. Twenty eight bodies had already been found.

The collision -- the first major crash in the United States since 2009 when 49 people were killed near Buffalo, New York -- occurred late evening on Wednesday as the airliner came into land at Reagan National Airport after a routine flight from Wichita, Kansas.

Reagan National is a major airport located a short distance from downtown Washington, the White House and the Pentagon. The airspace is extremely busy, with civilian and military aircraft a constant presence.

Dramatic audio from air traffic controllers showed them repeatedly asking the helicopter if it had the passenger jet "in sight," and then just before the crash telling it to "pass behind" the plane.

Trump opened his press conference by speaking of the nation's "anguish" and said that the investigation would take time.

However, he then launched into an extended broadside against so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

Trump -- who began his presidency a week ago with an onslaught against decades-old measures aimed at preventing sexism and racism in the United States -- singled out Biden's openly gay transport secretary Pete Buttigieg.

"He's run it right into the ground with his diversity," Trump said.

Buttigieg responded on X, calling Trump "despicable."

"As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying," he said. (AFP, Xinhua)