No survivors after Tu-154 plane crashed

A Russian military plane crashed on Sunday in the Black Sea as it made its way to Syria with 91 people onboard, including musicians heading to celebrate the New Year with troops.

The Russian Defence ministry said there had been no survivors after the Tu-154 plane crashed shortly after taking off from the southern city of Adler, south of the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, at 5.40 am local time (0240 GMT).

At least one body was found among debris in the Black Sea.

The plane had been conducting a routine flight to Russia's Hmeimim airbase outside the coastal Syrian city of Latakia, the ministry said.

"Fragments of the Tu-154 plane of the Russian Defence ministry were found 1.5 kilometres from the Black Sea coast of the city of Sochi at a depth of 50 to 70 metres," the ministry said, adding that search and rescue groups had been dispatched earlier to locate the missing.

Among its 83 passengers were Russian servicemen as well as members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, the army's official musical group internationally known as the Red Army Choir, who were headed to Syria to participate in New Year celebrations at the airbase.

There were also eight crew members onboard, the ministry said. (Telegraph)