Russian plane crashes with 92 passengers aboard

Among the passengers were more than 60 members of the choir of the Red Army and its director,
according to the list of passengers published by the Ministry of Defense, which includes 64 members of the Ensemble Aleksandrov,

known for his tours abroad under the name of choir Of the Red Army, eight military personnel, including Assembly Director Valeri Khakhilov, eight crew members, nine journalists, two senior civilian officials and the head of a well-known charitable organization in Russia,

Elizavéta Glinka. Public television stations Pervy Kanal, NTV and Zvezda each reported having three employees on board. Rescuers found a dead body about six kilometers off the coast, a ministry spokesman said.

 "The body of a person killed in the Defense Ministry's Tu-154 accident was found six kilometers off the coast of Sochi," southern spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

 "The body was transferred aboard a rescue boat," the source added. Subsequently, the finding of four bodies was reported. "The area where the Tu-154 crashed was found. There are no signs of survivors," the ministry said in a statement.

The rescue boats during the search operations of the remains of the plane this Sunday (EFE) Shortly before, the ministry had reported finding parts of the plane in the Black Sea.

"Fragments of the Tu-154 aircraft of the Russian Ministry of Defense were found 1.5 km off the coast of Sochi, about 50-70 meters deep," the ministry said. The Russian news agency RIA said, citing an anonymous security source, that early data indicate the plane crashed due to a technical malfunction, Reuters reported.

According to the Ministry of Interior, the aircraft made a routine trip to the Russian air base of Hmeimim in Syria, neighboring the coastal city of Latakia.
As for the "Ensemble Alexandrov", the official choir of the Russian army, planned to participate in the end of year celebrations at the Russian base.

The accident occurred in the early hours of Sunday, when the plane - a Tupolev Tu-154 owned by the Russian Defense Ministry - took off from the Adler-Sochi international airport on the shores of the Black Sea.

The plane disappeared 20 minutes after takeoff at 0520 local time (0220 GMT) while flying over Russian territorial waters.



  According to state television Rossiya24, search operations are ongoing. Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov told Russian agencies that President Vladimir Putin had been briefed on the situation and rescue operations.

 "It is too soon to say anything. The president is waiting for the situation to clear up," Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian agencies. He added that Putin remains in constant contact with Defense




Minister Sergei Shoigu.


  It's too early to say anything.

The president is waiting for the situation to clear up Meanwhile, a criminal investigation has been opened to determine if the plane crashed for breaching the rules of aviation safety, reported the Russian commission in charge of it.

  The researchers are currently questioning the technical personnel responsible for preparing the apparatus for take-off, the source said.
 Several Tupolev-154 have suffered accidents in recent years. In 2010, a device of this type with 96 people on board, including President Lech Kaczynski and senior Polish officials crashed while attempting to land near Smolensk (western Russia). All of its occupants died.
Russia has been bombing Syria since September 2015, in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's long-time ally. About 4,300 Russian soldiers are deployed in Syria, where Russia continues to strengthen its military presence.

 On Friday, Putin ordered Friday to enlarge the military facilities in the port city of Tartus in northwestern Syria, which are supposed to become a permanent naval base in this war-torn country since 2011.