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'No survivors' as Russian plane carrying 92 people crashes in the Black Sea

The military plane had been carrying the army’s official musical group.

A RUSSIAN MILITARY plane has crashed in the Black Sea on its way to Syria, with no sign of survivors among the 92 onboard.

Those on board included dozens of Red Army Choir members heading to celebrate the New Year with troops.

The Tu-154 plane went down in the Black Sea shortly after taking off from the southern city of Adler where it had been refuelling, defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told Russian news agencies.

It disappeared from radar just two minutes after it took off at 5:25 am (02:25 Irish time).

The ministry told agencies there was no sign of any survivors at the crash site and that four bodies had been recovered off the coast of the resort city of Sochi, as authorities launched a frantic search operation.

“Fragments of the Tu-154 plane of the Russian defence ministry were found 1.5 kilometres from the Black Sea coast of the city of Sochi at a depth of 50 to 70 metres,” the ministry said.

President Vladimir Putin told state television that Russia will observe a national day of mourning on Monday.

The plane had been on a routine flight to Russia’s Hmeimim airbase in western Syria, which has been used to launch air strikes in Moscow’s military campaign supporting its ally President Bashar al-Assad in the country’s devastating civil war.

Among the plane’s 84 passengers were Russian servicemen as well as 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, the army’s official musical group also known as the Red Army Choir, and its conductor Valery Khalilov.

They were headed to Syria to participate in New Year celebrations at the airbase.

Russia Military Plane Russian rescue workers carry a body from the wreckage. AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

The passengers also included nine journalists, with state-run channels Pervy Kanal, NTV and Zvezda saying they each had three staff onboard the flight.

There were also eight crew members, the ministry said.

A list of passengers published by the defence ministry also included Elizaveta Glinka, a doctor and charity worker who serves on the Kremlin human rights council.

Mikhail Fedotov, who heads the council, said Glinka was travelling to Syria to bring medication to a university hospital in the coastal city of Latakia near the airbase, agencies reported.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and the US Embassy in Moscow have expressed condolences over the crash, among others.

Probing cause of crash

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin was being kept updated on the search operation and was in constant contact with defence minister Sergei Shoigu.

Russia Military Plane A man places a candle at the well-known military choir's building in Moscow. AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

Konashenkov said that Deputy Defence Minister Pavel Popov had flown to Adler along with a team tasked with clarifying the circumstances surrounding the crash.

Transportation Minister Maxim Sokolov, who is heading a state commission probing the crash, is also on his way to the region, the government said in a statement.

The ministry has not put forward any possible causes of the crash.

Konashenkov said that the aircraft had been in service since 1983 and had flown some 7,000 hours since. The plane last underwent repairs in December 2014 and was serviced in September, he said.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said a criminal probe had been launched to determine whether violations of air transportation safety had led to the crash.

Investigators are currently questioning the technical personnel responsible for preparing the plane for take-off, the committee said.

Tu-154 aircraft have been involved in a number of accidents in the past.

In April 2010 many high-ranking Polish officials, including then president Lech Kaczynski, were killed when a Tu-154 airliner went down in thick fog while approaching Smolensk airport in western Russia.

Moscow has been conducting a bombing campaign in Syria in support of Assad since September 2015 and has taken steps to boost its presence in the country.

In October, Putin approved a law ratifying Moscow’s deal with Damascus to deploy its forces in the country indefinitely, firming up Russia’s long-term presence in Syria.

Russian warplanes have flown out of the Hmeimim base to conduct air strikes, and the base is also home to an S-400 air defence system.

© – AFP 2016

Read: Russian man who drove his car into an airport says he did it for love >

Read: ‘Nobody believed in him, only us’: Putin hails Trump in four-hour press conference >

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    Mute Paddy Galloway
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    Dec 25th 2016, 8:08 AM

    Terrible news for 91 families on Christmas Day. Doesn’t matter if they are Russian or not, they are human. R.I.P.

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    Mute Cosmo Kramer
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    Dec 25th 2016, 8:37 AM

    Why would it matter if they were Russian..

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    Mute Mike Cantwell
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    Dec 25th 2016, 8:38 AM

    The crowd in Clonskeagh don’t agree with you

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    Mute Paddy Galloway
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    Dec 25th 2016, 8:41 AM

    Just have a look on Twitter at some of the replies to the sky news tweet. It shouldn’t.

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    Mute Nick Drake
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    Dec 25th 2016, 9:17 AM

    @Paddy Galloway: Terrible news alright. But its like saying ‘ terrible news for 91 families at ramadan’. Less than 0.5% of Russians are catholics. Most are Orthodox Christians and their Christmas is in 2 weeks time.

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    Mute The Girl
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    Dec 25th 2016, 10:38 AM

    We’re all one way or the other prejudiced in our reactions. Most people wouldn’t care or even flinch because it’s Russians. Say these were a mixed nationality or a British plane. Tweets about it are not as sympathetic as other air tragedies of 2015 or 16. What a wonderful world..:-(.

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    Mute Mrs M
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    Dec 25th 2016, 12:34 PM

    They are human beings doesn’t matter where they are from RIP

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    Mute Tony Canning
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    Dec 25th 2016, 1:37 PM

    It’s sad when it’s anyone.

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    Mute Boganity
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    Dec 27th 2016, 12:27 PM

    @Paddy Galloway Russia is a secular society where the predominant religion celebrates Christmas on January 6th: so why would December 25th make this a more terrible tragedy for them ?

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    Mute Niall Conneely
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    Dec 25th 2016, 8:53 AM

    What a tragedy. The choir is absolutely fantastic.

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    Mute Tony Canning
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    Dec 25th 2016, 1:36 PM

    You don’t have to be a fan of Putin’s policies (I’m not) to recognise a sad loss of life. No need to engage in whatabouterry as if those policies are formed by a choir.

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    Mute gregory
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    Dec 25th 2016, 3:00 PM

    People in east aleppo celebrated being freed from tyranny of IS

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    Mute George Vladisavljevic
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    Dec 25th 2016, 3:46 PM

    @Mícheál de Burca: Sick.

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    Mute Chris Leitrim
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    Dec 25th 2016, 6:10 PM

    you need to do some research

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    Mute Mark Nugent
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    Dec 25th 2016, 8:09 AM

    RIP

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    Mute Catherine Hayward
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    Dec 25th 2016, 9:18 AM

    Very sad thing to happen and on Christmas rest in peace …

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    Mute Boganity
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    Dec 27th 2016, 12:29 PM

    Christmas is on January 6th in Russia

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    Mute John Henry
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    Dec 25th 2016, 2:27 PM

    Sickening reading some of the comments on here on this day of all days. Humanity is truly in the gutter. R. I. P. to all

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    Mute Boganity
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    Dec 27th 2016, 12:33 PM

    Why…because it’s our Christmas Day ? That makes no sense as Christmas is on January 6th in Russia !

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    Mute Fidélmá Hilton
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    Dec 25th 2016, 3:28 PM

    Thoughts and prayers to all their families what a terrible tragedy

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    Mute Tony Hardwicke
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    Dec 25th 2016, 7:58 AM

    Poor bloody infantry

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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Dec 25th 2016, 8:03 AM

    Scrooge lives!

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    Mute Ian Begley
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    Dec 25th 2016, 2:51 PM

    Aww God – the choir is one of my all time favourites

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    Mute Frederick Higginbottom
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    Dec 25th 2016, 6:29 PM

    @Ian Begley: Hope ur ok hun xxxxxxx

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    Mute Munsterman
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    Dec 25th 2016, 3:37 PM

    Pretty sure this aircraft is banned from European airspace. They have a pretty horrible safety record.

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    Mute Boganity
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    Dec 27th 2016, 12:37 PM

    Since 1968 there have been 39 fatal incidents involving the Tu-154, most of which were caused by factors unrelated to the aircraft

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    Mute John Jones
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    Dec 25th 2016, 12:46 PM

    I was saying boo urns

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