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Four bodies of Tu-154 plane crash victims found in Black Sea

There were 92 people onboard the plane, including journalists, servicemen and musicians of the famous Alexandrov ensemble, an official army choir of the Russian armed forces

© Yuri Smityuk/TASS

MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/. The bodies of four victims have been found at the crash site of the Tu-154 plane of the Defense Ministry in the Black Sea near Sochi, the emergencies services told TASS.

"Now the bodies of four victims have been found and retrieved," the source said.

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Russian Defense Ministry: 92 people were onboard crashed Tu-154 plane

The Tu-154 plane of the Defense Ministry disappeared from radars at 05.40 a.m. Moscow time (02.40 a.m. GMT) shortly after taking off from Sochi. There were 92 people onboard the plane, including journalists, servicemen and musicians of the famous Alexandrov ensemble, an official army choir of the Russian armed forces, who flew to congratulate the air group of Russia’s Aerospace Forces at the Hmeymim air base in Syria with the New Year. Executive Director of the Spravedlivaya Pomoshch (Fair Aid) charity fund Elizaveta Glinka, known as Dr. Liza, was also onboard.

The Defense Ministry said the debris of the Tu-154 plane was found 1.5 km from the coast near Sochi at the depth of 50-70 meters.

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