Russian military plane crashes in Black Sea near Sochi

A Russian military plane carrying 92 people has crashed in the Black Sea after take off from Sochi.

The flight disappeared from radar Sunday 5:40am local time after taking off from the Adler airport.

The Tupolev Tu-154 plane was carrying members of the renowned military choir and dance band, the Alexandrov Ensemble, for a new year’s Eve concert in Syria.

“Now at a distance of 1,5 kilometers off the Sochi coast, at the depth of about 70 meters parts of TU-154 aircraft body have been discovered. Search operation continues. Four vessels and five helicopters are currently operating in the plane search area, as well as drones. Re-enforcement has been dispatched to the area,” Russian Defence Ministry Spokesman, Igor Konashenkov said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry say it found debris from the missing Tu-154 in the Black Sea one mile from Sochi.

“Commission of the Russian Defence Ministry headed by the Russian Deputy Defence Minister General Pavel Popov has flown to Sochi. Lists of people who were onboard TU-154 were uploaded to the Russian Defence Ministry site. Russian Defence Ministry’s hotline number has also been published,” he added.

The Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Sunday it was too early to say what had caused the crash.

No survivors in #Tu154 plane #crash near Sochi — Defense Ministryhttps://t.co/ATgGLAFPl4

— TASS (@tassagency_en) December 25, 2016

It is however believed that the plane had crashed because of a technical malfunction or pilot error.

Russian Defense Ministry sends 4 ships, 5 helicopters to #Tu154 #crashhttps://t.co/18NIP6ntsi

— TASS (@tassagency_en) December 25, 2016