Ten bodies have been recovered from the Russian military plane which crashed into the Black Sea minutes after taking off from the city of Sochi.
Thousands of rescue workers are searching the undersea crash site but there appear to be no survivors.
A total of 84 passengers and eight crew members were on the Tu-154 plane when it disappeared from radar two minutes after taking off in good weather on Sunday.
Those on board included dozens of members of Russia’s world-famous Alexandrov Ensemble army choir.
Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad has told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that he is “extremely sad” about the Russian military plane crash in the Black Sea.
He added that he will not hinder both countries’ joint offensive against militants.
A Russian military plane bound for Syria crashed into the Black Sea after disappearing from radar shortly after taking off from the city of Sochi.
The country’s ministry of defence said 92 people, including the army’s celebrated male choir and orchestra, were on board the plane.
Defence ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said no survivors have been spotted in the Black Sea crash site.
The ill-fated plane, en route to the Syrian port city of Latakia, vanished from the radar at 5:40 a.m. Moscow Time (0240 GMT), according to Russian media reports.
“Fragments of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Tu-154 aircraft were discovered in 1.5 kilometres from the Black Sea shore of Sochi at a depth of 50-70 meters,” the ministry said.
NAN
