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Turkey’s PM offers condolences over Tu-154 crash

A Russian defense ministry Tu-154 bound for Syria vanished from radars in the early morning on December 25 shortly after taking off from Sochi

© Mustafa Aktas, Prime Ministry Press Service, Pool photo via AP

MOSCOW, December 26. /TASS/. Turkey’s Prime Minister Binaly Yildirim has offered his condolences to his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev over the Russian Tu-154 plane crash in the Black Sea near Sochi, the Russian government informed on its website on Monday after their telephone conversation.

"The Turkish head of government offered Dmitry Medvedev deep condolences over the Tu-154 crash in the Black Sea," the government said.

During their telephone conversation initiated by the Turkish side, the two prime ministers discussed certain issues of the Russian-Turkish relations.

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World leaders react to Tu-154 plane crash off Sochi coast

A Russian defense ministry Tu-154 bound for Syria vanished from radars in the early morning on December 25 shortly after taking off from Sochi. There were 92 people on board the aircraft, including eight crew members and 84 passengers. Among them were journalists from Russia's Channel One, Zvezda and NTV networks, servicemen and musicians from the world-acclaimed Alexandrov ensemble, the official choir of the Russian armed forces, who set off to celebrate New Year’s Eve with Russia’s Aerospace Forces at the Hmeymim air base in Syria. The Executive Director of the Spravedlivaya Pomoshch (Russian for Fair Aid or Fair Help) charity fund Elizaveta Glinka, known to the Russian public as Dr. Liza, was also on board the flight.

The defense ministry said that fragments of the Tu-154 aircraft were found 1.5 km off the coast of Sochi at a depth of 50-70 meters. Thanks to intensive efforts by search and rescue teams, 11 bodies have been recovered so far. None of the passengers on the flight survived. According to the Federal Security Service, no evidence has been found linking the crash to terrorism.

On Monday, a day of mourning is declared in Russia.

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