By — Kamala Kelkar Kamala Kelkar Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/92-dead-russian-military-plane-way-syria-crashes Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter 92 dead after Russian military plane headed to Syria crashes World Dec 25, 2016 8:42 AM EDT A Russian military aircraft headed for Syria crashed into the Black Sea on Sunday morning, killing all 92 people on board, including dozens of people from the Red Army Choir planning to entertain troops. The Tupolev Tu-154 disappeared from the radar around 5:30 a.m. local time, two minutes after it left the resort town Sochi, where it had stopped for fuel after leaving from Moscow, according to news reports. Fragments of the plane were found in the ocean about a mile off Sochi’s shore as emergency responders scoured for survivors and clues. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said none of the passengers — at least 60 from the armed forces’ official army choir, 9 Russian reporters and 8 crewmembers — survived. Russian Emergencies Ministry members push a cart with remains of Russian military Tu-154 plane which crashed into the Black Sea, at a quay in the Sochi suburb of Khosta, Russia, Russia December 25, 2016. Photo by Yevgeny Reutov/Reuters “The area of the crash site has been established. No survivors have been spotted,” Konashenkov said. Russian agencies said it is too early to determine the cause and that they are investigating all possibilities, including terrorism. Russian President Vladmir Putin ordered an investigation and declared Dec. 26 a national day of mourning. December 26 declared national day of mourninghttps://t.co/TrEgVh0dDy — Vladimir Putin (@PutinRF_Eng) December 25, 2016 We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Kamala Kelkar Kamala Kelkar Kamala Kelkar works on investigative projects at PBS NewsHour Weekend. She has been a journalist for a decade, reporting from Oakland, India, Alaska and now New York. @kkelkar
A Russian military aircraft headed for Syria crashed into the Black Sea on Sunday morning, killing all 92 people on board, including dozens of people from the Red Army Choir planning to entertain troops. The Tupolev Tu-154 disappeared from the radar around 5:30 a.m. local time, two minutes after it left the resort town Sochi, where it had stopped for fuel after leaving from Moscow, according to news reports. Fragments of the plane were found in the ocean about a mile off Sochi’s shore as emergency responders scoured for survivors and clues. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said none of the passengers — at least 60 from the armed forces’ official army choir, 9 Russian reporters and 8 crewmembers — survived. Russian Emergencies Ministry members push a cart with remains of Russian military Tu-154 plane which crashed into the Black Sea, at a quay in the Sochi suburb of Khosta, Russia, Russia December 25, 2016. Photo by Yevgeny Reutov/Reuters “The area of the crash site has been established. No survivors have been spotted,” Konashenkov said. Russian agencies said it is too early to determine the cause and that they are investigating all possibilities, including terrorism. Russian President Vladmir Putin ordered an investigation and declared Dec. 26 a national day of mourning. December 26 declared national day of mourninghttps://t.co/TrEgVh0dDy — Vladimir Putin (@PutinRF_Eng) December 25, 2016 We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now