A Russian military plane with 91 people aboard crashed on Sunday shortly after takeoff on its way to a Russian base in Syria,
According to Russian news agencies and the Defense Ministry said that Russian air traffic controllers have lost contact with a Tu-154 airliner, which disappeared from radar shortly after take-off in Sochi with 91 people on board.
Members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, an official army choir of the Russian Armed Forces, and nine journalists were on board the missing plane, the defense ministry says.
They were going to Russia’s Khmeimin Airbase in Syria for New Year celebrations, the ministry added
The plane crashed over the Black Sea. Emergency services are searching for the plane.
The ministry said the plane was carrying the famous Alexandrov military band for a concert at the air base.
Eight out of the 91 people aboard are crew members.
The Tu-154 aircraft, a Soviet-designed three-engine airliner, disappeared from the radar over the Black Sea minutes after taking off from the resort town of Sochi, according to the ministry.
Russia’s RT reported that the plane was on its way to the Syrian province of Latakya.
On Monday, a Russian military plane carrying 32 passengers and seven crew members crashed in northeast Siberia as it tried to make an emergency landing.
