Translated material
Divers began searching for the fuselage of the crashed Tu-154
Divers participating in a search operation near Sochi, where a Tu-154 plane crashed on the morning of December 25, have begun descents into the water, the Defense Ministry said.
The agency added that 109 divers are working in the area of the crash. They are looking for the fuselage and large pieces of the aircraft. The presumed crash site has already been determined.
The Ministry of Defense stressed that the search operation will go on around the clock. To this end, high-power searchlights will operate on ships and in the coastal zone.
“With the onset of darkness, the operation in the area of the crash is being carried out non-stop and will continue around the clock,” the Ministry of Defense said.
By 20:30 Moscow time, the bodies of eleven dead were raised from the water.
“The diving group has been increased to 109 divers. The 80 diving specialists of the Navy and the Ministry of Emergency Situations who arrived earlier were distributed among the ships and began diving in order to detect the fuselage and large fragments of the aircraft body in the alleged crash area, ”the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
- The Tu-154 plane crashed on the morning of December 25 near Sochi. There were 92 people on board the aircraft: artists of the Alexandrov Ensemble, journalists and director of the Fair Help Foundation Elizaveta Glinka (Dr. Liza). There are no survivors of the plane crash.
- The reasons for the incident are still unknown. The Ministry of Defense announced the technical serviceability of the aircraft and the high qualification of the crew. The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under the article “violation of flight rules that entailed grave consequences” (Article 351 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).