WEB DESK
A Russian military plane carrying 91 people on board has crashed, according to reports a rescue team has found the debris from the plane in the Black Sea. The plane had disappeared from radar 20 minutes after taking off from Adler airport in the resort of Sochi at 05:20 local time.
Defence Ministry sources said in Moscow, the plane was carrying Russian servicemen as well as members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, the army’s official musical group, who were headed to Syria’s Latakia province to participate in New Year celebrations at the base. There were nine members of the media on board.
A Tu-154 aircraft of the Russian Defense Ministry has crashed in the Black Sea after it disappeared from radar, regional emergency service said Sunday, reports Russian media.
“The debris of the Tu-154 found in 1.5 km from Sochi coast,” the service was quoted as saying by the country’s official TASS news agency.
With 91 people on board, the aircraft disappeared from radar shortly after leaving Russian city of Sochi, it said.
The aircraft was en route to Syria’s Latakia to take part in a New Year’s concert.
Among the 91 people, 83 were passengers and eight were crew members, the defense ministry said in a statement.
The ministry confirmed that there were nine journalists along with musicians from the army.
The Kremlin’s Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that President Vladimir Putin was informed about the incident.