BEVERLY HILLS December 25, (THEWILL) – The Russian Defence Ministry has declared that “no survivors are seen” from the Tu-154 military plane that crashed on Sunday in the Black Sea off the coast of Sochi.
The plane, which was carrying 93 people, including a renowned choir, 64 members of the famed Alexandrov military music ensemble, billed to perform for the holidays at a Russian airbase in Syria, crashed shortly after take-off.
Defence Ministry Spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, in televised comments, said t least four bodies have been recovered from the crash site, with major debris found about 1.5 kilometres from the coast.
The plane was heading to Latakia in Syria but disappeared from radar two minutes after taking off from the resort city of Sochi having originated in Moscow but had landed at Adler airport in Sochi for refuelling.
Based on preliminary information, the accident was caused by technical malfunction or pilot error.
“Fragments of the Tu-154 plane of the Russian defence ministry were found 1.5km (one mile) from the Black Sea coast of the city of Sochi at a depth of 50 to 70m (165-230ft),” the defence ministry said in a statement.
There are “practically no chances” that anyone survived the crash, the Interfax news agency cited an undisclosed source in Russia’s emergency services as saying earlier.
The most likely cause of the crash was either a problem with the plane or pilot error, state news agency RIA Novosti cited an undisclosed source as saying.
Meanwhile, Russian federal investigators have opened a criminal case into the incident on charges of disobeying aviation rules, the Investigative Committee said in a statement on its website.
Story by Oputah David
