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.
The 'Red Army' choir loved by Russia
Ten
bodies have been brought on board a rescue vessel, according 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.
Photos: Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia
Russian
emergency workers carry remains from the wreckage of the Tu-154 that
crashed near Sochi, Russia, on Sunday. The plane was carrying more than
60 members of the Russian army's popular Alexandrov Ensemble, dubbed
"Russia's singing weapon.
One of the people aboard that flight was
Liza Glinka, a famous Russian human rights activist, according to CNN
affiliate RBC. She was bringing medicine and other supplies to a local
hospital in Syria, her colleague and friend Dr. Sergey Kurkov told RBC.
"We
are shocked. I've talked to her on the phone just recently, just before
it happened. She was a saint. She helped everybody," he said, adding
that he's known her for 20 years. "She was kind, she was fair. It is
such a huge loss for me. She talked to us. She argued with us. She was
my teacher. She was like a family for me."
The Russian Tu-154 could have crashed
because of a technical malfunction or pilot error but not terrorism,
said Viktor Ozerov, chairman of the Federation Council Committee on
Defense and Security, according to Russia's Sputnik news agency.
"I
rule out version of the terror attack completely. It is the aircraft of
the Ministry of Defense, the airspace of the Russian Federation, there
cannot be such a version," Ozerov is quoted as saying. "The plane had to
make a U-turn after takeoff over the sea (and) may (have taken) the
wrong direction."
En route to
Latakia, the plane landed in Sochi to refuel, the Defense Ministry's
press service told Russia's Interfax news agency.
According
to RIA Novosti, the Defense Ministry said it found debris from the
Tu-154 in the Black Sea one mile from Sochi. Four ships and five
helicopters have combed the crash site, Konashenkov said, according to
Tass.
More than 100 divers with
special equipment will be deployed, and a group of medical and
psychological professionals will be on hand to help relatives, he said.
A famous Russian ensemble
CNN
Meteorologist Derek Van Dam said no major weather patterns were present
at the time of the plane's disappearance. On Sunday, the temperature of
the Black Sea was about 10 degrees Celsius (50 F), according to Russian
media.
The Defense Ministry
published a list of those on board. Among them: eight crew members,
eight soldiers and more than 60 members of the famed Alexandrov
Ensemble, the Russian army's official choir, including its conductor
Valery Kahlilov.
Since 1928, the
Alexandrov Ensemble has grown into a immensely popular tradition due to
its unending government support. It has toured the world performing
Russian folk songs, World War II anthems and patriotic music, and was
dubbed "Russia's singing weapon."
The
ensemble consists of between 100 and 120 members depending on the type
of performance. It includes a choir, a dance troupe and an orchestra.
Because their performance at the airbase was going to be mostly a
cappella, only the choir and a handful of dancers were aboard the plane,
Russian media reported.
"The
orchestra did not fly because [the choir] was supposed to use
pre-recorded music," choir singer Sergei Khlopnikov, who didn't make the
trip because his daughter was sick, told the Interfax news agency.
Nine journalists, including three reporters with Star TV, were on board, the Defense Ministry said on its television network.
"Our
cultural paratroopers perished," the head of the Moscow government's
culture department, Alexander Kibovsky, said in televised remarks.
"These people always performed in war zones, they wore uniforms, they
brought kindness and light," said Konashekov.
An investigation launched
The
plane was manufactured in 1983 and had 6,689 hours of flight. "The last
repair was on December 29, 2014, and in September 2016 it underwent
scheduled maintenance," the ministry said, according to Tass.
The ministry identified the pilot as Roman Volkov, who it said was a "class 1 pilot" with more than 3,000 flying hours.
Tass has reported that, according to the Defense Ministry, "all search
and rescue services of aviation units on the Southern Military District
in Krasnodar and neighboring regions are engaged in aircraft search."
A photo of a Tupolev Tu-154, the same plane that disappeared Sunday morning after taking off near Sochi, Russia.
A photo of a Tupolev Tu-154, the same plane that disappeared Sunday morning after taking off near Sochi, Russia.
Reports: Russian military plane wreckage found in Black sea 00:58
Russian
President Vladimir Putin has ordered Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to
lead an investigation of the Tu-154 crash, according to Russian news
agency Sputnik.
The Russian
Investigation Committee has launched a routine criminal investigation to
examine potential "violation of rules of flight safety or preparation,"
committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko told Tass. The committee plans
to seize documents and interrogate those who prepared the plane for
flight, she added.
Putin declared Monday a day of national mourning.
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