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Category: Air Force / Accidents / Air Transport

Debris from missing Russian plane found in Black Sea

Sunday, 25 Dec 2016 13:30:06

The plane was a model Tu-154, similar to the one pictured. (Reuters: Thomas Noack; file photo)

Rescuers have found fragments of the Tu-154 plane that was carrying 92 people en route to the Russian military base in Syria, the Defence Ministry has confirmed.

The plane disappeared from radars shortly after take-off from the Black Sea resort town of Sochi on Sunday.

It was carrying eight crew and 84 passengers, including members of the world-famous Alexandrov military choir. The number was initially reported at 91 people on board.

Nine Russian journalists, including a TV crew from Channel One, were also among the passengers.

It is believed the choir was set to perform at a Russian air base in Syria as part of a Christmas celebration with the troops there.

The ministry said rescue teams found fragments of the plane at a distance of about 1.5 kilometres from shore at a depth of 50 to 70 metres.

Rescuers already have found one body and personal documents belonging to some of those on board. There was no word of survivors.

Earlier, it was reported Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was personally coordinating the rescue efforts, and President Vladimir Putin received official reports on the incident.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was too early to say what had caused the crash.

Russia's Defence Ministry regularly flies musicians into Syria to put on concerts for military personnel.

The base they were heading for, Hmeymim, is in Latakia province.

It is from there that Russia flies air strikes against Syrian rebels.

After a Tu-154 crashed in 2007, killing 170 people, an investigation was launched into Russia's aviation safety.

In 2010, two people were killed when another Tu-154 plane crashed in Moscow.

Earlier in December, another Russian Defence Ministry crashed in Siberia with 39 people on board as it tried to make an emergency landing near a Soviet-era military base.

Nobody was killed in that incident, though 32 people were airlifted to hospital.

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