Chronicle Editor
MOSCOW. — The main black box of the Syria-bound Russian military plane that crashed into the Black Sea with 92 people on-board has been found in a massive ongoing search operation, authorities said on Tuesday.“The main black box was found at 5:42 am Moscow time (0242 GMT) 1 600 metres from the shore at a depth of 17 metres,” the defence ministry said in a statement, adding that the device would be sent to the Moscow region to be deciphered by experts.
The Tu-154 jet, whose passengers included more than 60 members of the internationally renowned Red Army Choir, was heading to Russia’s military airbase in Syria when it went down off the coast of the resort city of Sochi shortly after take-off on Sunday.
Investigators are yet to confirm the cause of the crash, but officials have said that an act of terror was not being considered as a possible explanation.
The finding of the black box comes as searchers are scrambling to recover bodies and remaining debris from the aircraft in an operation involving 192 divers, 45 vessels, 12 planes, five helicopters and 15 deep water machines.
The defence ministry said that five plane fragments were found overnight 30 metres (98 feet) under water at around 1,700 metres from the shore.
Part of the plane’s fuselage, measuring 3,5 metres by 4,5 metres, was recovered Monday evening.
Russia’s federal security service has said it is looking into four suspected causes of the crash, which include pilot error, technical failure, faulty fuel and an object in the engine.
The defence ministry said on Tuesday that 12 bodies and 156 body fragments had been recovered from the water since the crash. They will be sent to Moscow for identification, it said.
The Tu-154 jet went down on Sunday morning minutes after taking off at from Sochi’s airport, where it had stopped to refuel after flying out from the Chkalovsky military aerodrome in the Moscow region.
The FSB said all passengers remained on the plane when it stopped in Sochi, with one customs officer and one border guard coming on board as it was being fuelled.
On-board were 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble — the army’s official musical group, also known as the Red Army Choir — and their conductor Valery Khalilov.
The choir was set to perform for Russian troops at the Hmeimim airbase in Syria, which has been used to launch air strikes in support of Moscow’s ally President Bashar al-Assad.
Other passengers included military officers, journalists and popular charity worker Yelizaveta Glinka, affectionately known as “Doctor Liza”, who had been set to delivery medical supplies to a hospital in the coastal Syrian city of Latakia near the Russian airbase.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said yesterday he will aim to quickly restore the country’s signature Red Army Choir.
Shoigu said that he will do what is necessary “so that we can restore the troupe in the nearest future, as much as we could, hold auditions, pick the best people, so that they continue the traditions that the Alexandrov Ensemble is known for.”
To entice the best musical talent to join the army’s official choir, Shoigu said he will soon order the allocation of 70 flats to the ensemble, which would be offered to new members.
He added that a military music school will be named after conductor Khalilov, calling him a “legend” who revived the army’s orchestral traditions. — AFP.
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