A Russian military plane carrying 92 people, including dozens of Red Army Choir singers, has crashed into the Black Sea on its way to Syria, killing everyone on board.
No survivors have been spotted after a military plane carrying 92 people, including a well-known military band, crashed near Sochi, Russia's defence ministry has said.
Major-General Igor Konashenkov said no survivors had been spotted in the Black Sea at the crash site of the Russian defence ministry Tu-154.
"The area of the crash site has been established. No survivors have been spotted," he said.
An unnamed ministry source told Russian news agencies no life rafts had been found, while another source told the Interfax agency that the plane had not sent an SOS signal.
The plane was carrying Russian servicemen and members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, who were being flown into Russia's Hmeymim air base in Syria to entertain military personnel in the run-up to the new year.
Viktor Ozerov, head of the defence affairs committee at the upper house of Russian parliament, said the crash could have been caused by a technical malfunction or a crew error, but he believes it could not have been terrorism because the plane was operated by the military.
"I totally exclude" the idea of an attack bringing down the plane, he said in remarks carried by state RIA Novosti news agency.
The plane was carrying 84 passengers and eight crew members. The Defence Ministry initially said 93 people were on the plane, but later revised this down to 92.
The passenger list released by the ministry included 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, among them its leader, Valery Khalilov.
Also on board was Yelizaveta Glinka, a Russian doctor who has won wide acclaim for her charity work. Her foundation said that Glinka was accompanying a shipment of medicines for a hospital in Syria.
Nine Russian journalists from three Russian television stations were also among the passengers.
In televised comments, Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking in St Petersburg, declared 26 December a national day of mourning.
He said the government will "conduct a thorough investigation into the reasons and do everything to support the victims' families."
Russia's Defence Ministry regularly flies musicians into Syria to put on concerts for military personnel. The base they were heading for, Hmeymim, is in Latakia province, from where Russia flies air strikes against Syrian rebels.
Earlier in December, another Russian Defence Ministry crashed in Siberia with 39 people on board as it tried to make an emergency landing near a Soviet-era military base. Nobody was killed, though 32 people were airlifted to hospital.
Additional reporting by agencies
