SOCHI, Russia (CNN) — A Russian military plane carrying members of the army’s official choir traveling to perform in Syria has crashed in the Black Sea near Sochi.
There are apparently no survivors, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
The ensemble was “flying to congratulate Russian air force pilots in Syria with the New Year,” ministry spokesman Igor Konashekov said.
A Tupolev Tu-154 plane that was carrying 92 people, including 84 passengers and eight crew members, disappeared from radar Sunday morning local time after taking off from the Adler airport, state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.
The plane took off from Moscow and was headed to the Russian Hmeymim airbase in Latakia, Syria, where Russia has a large military presence, for a concert ahead of New Year’s Eve, a source told Russia’s state news agency Tass.
Ten bodies have been brought on board a rescue vessel, according to the search and rescue team working the area of the crash, Konashekov said. One body believed to be among the victims was found more than three miles off the Sochi shore, Konashenkov said.
