Russians mourn for victims of Black Sea plane crash

Mourners congregated outside the offices of the Alexandrov Ensemble, the renowned choir of the Russian Armed Forces, to pay tribute to the members who were killed in a deadly plane crash in the Black Sea on Sunday.

The choir lost 64 members and its head conductor Valery Halilov when the Russian military Tu-154 aircraft, carrying 84 passengers and eight crew members, crashed into the Black Sea after taking off from the resort city of Sochi on Sunday.

The doomed plane had been heading to a Russian millitary base in the Syrian port city of Latakia where the choir was scheduled to perform at New Year celebrations next week.

“I am familiar with most of the victims. I was in the choir for over a year. I know almost all of them, especially Artem [a victim]. I am here to mourn for all those killed in the crash,” said Cergey, a former member of the Alexandrov Ensemble.

A local musician said the Alexandrov Ensemble, as Russia’s largest army choir, has suffered immeasurable losses from the deadly crash.

“Music is their [the victims] utmost pursuit. They have absolutely and honestly fulfilled their professional duties and made great contributions to the choir. The plane crash is so horrible. Many people have cried and felt sad for them. They are artists, cultural workers and intellectuals. Their deaths are great losses to Russia,” said Albert, a musician in Moscow.

The ill-fated plane vanished from radar screens shortly after taking off from an airfield in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi at 05:40 Moscow Time.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, fragments of the aircraft were later discovered some 1.5 kilometers off the coast of Sochi at a depth of 50 to 70 meters.

Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a criminal investigation into the crash. Based on preliminary information, the misfortune was caused by some form of technical malfunction or pilot error, a law enforcement source was quoted as saying.

The Tu-154 is a three-engine medium-range airliner produced by Russian aerospace and defense company Tupolev. It is one of the fastest civilian aircraft in use and has been widely used in extreme Arctic conditions.