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The plane was carrying the Alexandrov Ensemble, also known as the Red Army Choir, for a concert at a Russian base in Syria.
All 92 people on board a Russian military plane that crashed near Sochi have died, according to Russia’s defence ministry.
Several bodies have been recovered from the water after the jet crashed shortly after take-off.
The plane was carrying 64 members of the renowned military choir and dance band, the Alexandrov Ensemble, including its conductor Valery Khalilov.
The ensemble, better known as the Red Army Choir, was heading to Syria to give a concert at a Russian air base.
Nine members of the media were among the 84 passengers on board. Eight crew were also on the plane.
Among the dead is Dr Yelizaveta Glinka, a renowned aid worker, who has been honoured by President Putin.
Local news agencies quoted the Defence Ministry as saying that four bodies have been recovered and that “there is no sign of survivors”
iktor Ozerov, head of the Russian parliament’s defence committee, has told state media that he “totally excludes” terrorism as a cause of the crash.
He said it could have been caused by a technical malfunction or crew error.
President Vladimir Putin has ordered an investigation into the cause of the crash.
He also offered deepest condolences to the victims’ families, according to a Kremlin spokesman.
he missing aircraft is a Tu-154, a Soviet-designed three-engine airliner.
It disappeared minutes after taking off over the Black Sea.
The plane had departed at 5:40am local time (0240 GMT) from Adler, south of Sochi, where it had stopped to refuel after taking off from Moscow.
Fragments of the plane have been found about 1.5km (0.93 miles) from the Russian coast. Some personal documents from those on board have also been recovered.
The plane was flying to Russia’s Hmeimim airbase outside the coastal Syrian city of Latakia, the ministry said.
The Tu-154 aircraft has been involved in a number of accidents in the past.
In April 2010 the-then Polish president Lech Kaczynski was killed when a Tu-154 airliner crashed near Smolensk in western Russia.
Sky News
