Red Army choir among victims of Tu-154 crash
Print Edition
A Russian plane carrying 92 people to an airbase in Syria crashed yesterday into the Black Sea just after taking off from the city of Sochi, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.
Thousands of rescue workers were searching the undersea crash site but there appeared to be no survivors. Those on board included 64 members of Russia’s world-famous army choir.
The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately known.
In all, 84 passengers and eight crew members were on the Tu-154 plane when it disappeared from radar two minutes after taking off in good weather.
Emergency crews found fragments of the plane about 1.5 kilometers from shore and by yesterday afternoon, rescue teams had already recovered 10 bodies.
The plane belonged to the Defense Ministry and was taking the Alexandrov Ensemble to a New Year’s concert at Hemeimeem airbase in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia.
Those on board also included nine Russian journalists and a Russian doctor famous for her work in war zones.
President Vladimir Putin went on television to declare today a nationwide day of mourning.
“We will conduct a thorough investigation into the reasons and will do everything to support the victims’ families,” Putin said.
More than 3,000 people worked from 27 ships and several helicopters to search the crash site, according to the Defense Ministry. Drones were also flown over to help to spot bodies and debris.
About 100 more divers were being flown in from naval facilities across Russia, and powerful spotlights were brought in so the search could continue around the clock.
Magomed Tolboyev, a decorated Russian test pilot, said the circumstances of the crash indicated that all on board had died. “There is no chance to survive in such situation,” he said. “The plane gets instantly blown into pieces.”
The Tu-154 is a Soviet-built three-engine airliner designed in the late 1960s. More than 1,000 have been built. The plane that crashed was built in 1983, and underwent factory check-ups and maintenance in 2014 and earlier this year, according to the Defense Ministry.
Viktor Ozerov, head of the defense affairs committee in the upper house of the Russian parliament, said the crash could have been caused by a technical malfunction or a crew error.
He said it could not have been a terror attack because the plane was operated by the Russian military.
“I totally exclude” the idea of an attack bringing down the plane, Ozerov said according to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.
The military has repeatedly flown groups of Russian singers and artists to perform at Hemeimeem, which serves as the main hub for the Russian air campaign in Syria.
The passenger list for the Sochi plane released by the Defense Ministry included members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, including its leader Valery Khalilov.
The ensemble, often referred to as the Red Army Choir, is the official choir of the Russian military and also includes a band and a dance company.
Also on board was Yelizaveta Glinka, a Russian doctor who has won wide acclaim for her charity work, which has included missions to war zones in eastern Ukraine and Syria.
Her foundation said Glinka was accompanying a shipment of medicine scheduled for a hospital in Syria.
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