Military plane crashes into Black Sea near Sochi
December 25, 2016
Journalists and members of Alexandrov Ensemble choir among 91 aboard plane that crashes off Sochi coast, officials say.
A Tupolev Tu-154 of the Russian air force, similar to the one that crashed [File: Alan Wilson/Flickr]
A Russian military plane with 91 people on board, including members of a famous army choir, has crashed into the Black Sea shortly after taking off, the Russian defence ministry said.
A defence ministry spokesman told Russian media that a body was recovered from the Black Sea after the Syria-bound plane crashed on Sunday.
“The body of a person killed as a result the crash of the Russian defence ministry’s Tu-154 was found six kilometres off the coast of Sochi,” defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told agencies.
“The body was taken on board of a rescue ship.”
Rescue teams also found debris at the suspected crash site 1.5 kilometres off the coast of Sochi at a depth of 50 to 70 metres.
Other news agencies reported that parts of the plane and undercarriage, and also an oil slick were found over an area covering several kilometres in the Black Sea.
There was no word on possible survivors.
The plane, which was on its way to Latakia in Syria, was carrying 81 passengers and 10 crew members, Interfax news agency reported.
The Tu-154 is a Soviet-designed three-engine airliner.
Al Jazeera’s Natasha Ghoneim, reporting from Moscow, said the plane disappeared from radar only minutes after takeoff.
“Reports here in Moscow are saying that the passengers included journalists, military personel and members of the famous Alexandrov Ensemble, an official army choir of the Russian armed forces,” Ghoneim said.
The Russian defence ministry said the Alexandrov Ensemble was to perform a concert at the Russian air base in Latakia.
Rescue services of aviation units of the Southern Military District in Krasnodar and neighbouring regions were engaged in the search for the plane, the defence ministry said.
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies
