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Turkey’s Foreign Ministry sends condolences to Russia over Tu-154 plane crash

The Tu-154 plane from Russia’s Ministry of Defense vanished from radar screens at 05.40 a.m. Moscow time shortly after taking off from the Black Sea resort of Sochi

ANKARA, December 25. /TASS/. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has offered condolences to Russia over the Tu-154 plane crash in the Black Sea near Sochi, Ankara's official diplomatic spokesman Huseyin Muftuoglu stated.

"We were saddened to learn that the Tu-154 plane with 84 passengers and 8 crew members today plunged into the Black Sea. We offer our condolences to the families of the dead, their relatives, to the friendly Russian people and the Russian state," Muftuoglu said in a statement.

Turkey’s National Defense Minister Fikri Isik also expressed condolences over the tragedy.

The Tu-154 plane from Russia’s Ministry of Defense vanished from radar screens at 05.40 a.m. Moscow time (02.40 a.m. GMT) shortly after taking off from the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

According to the latest information from Russia's Defense Ministry, there were 92 people on board the aircraft, consisting of 8 crew members and 84 passengers. Among them was the Executive Director of the Spravedlivaya Pomoshch (Fair Aid) charity fund, Elizaveta Glinka, also better known to the Russian public as Dr. Liza, as well as servicemen and reporters, including from Channel One, Zvezda and NTV.

The plane was also carrying more than 60 members of the famous Alexandrov ensemble, an official army choir of the Russian armed forces, who set off to celebrate the New Year with the air group of Russia’s Aerospace Forces at the Hmeymim air base in Syria. The choir’s conductor Valery Khalilov was also on the list of passengers.

The Defense Ministry said that debris from the Tu-154 had been found 1.5 km off the coast of Sochi at the depth of 50-70 meters.