A Russian Defense Ministry Tu-154 plane heading from Moscow to Syria crashed on Sunday morning near the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi. All 92 passengers are considered dead, including 64 members of the Red Army Choir.
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(Via Daily Mail) The Tu-154 model plane, which belonged to the Russian defence ministry, crashed two minutes after leaving the southern city of Adler at 5.40am (2.40am GMT). There were no survivors.
The military plane was carrying soldiers, reporters and 64 members of the famed Alexandrov military music ensemble who were to perform for Russian troops in Syria as part of New Year celebrations. (read more)
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(Via AP) […] “It’s difficult to grasp the scale of that tragedy,” Moscow city’s culture department head Alexander Kibovsky said in televised remarks. “They were raising pride for our culture, our country, across the entire world.”
As word of the crash spread Sunday, people placed bouquets of flowers outside the ensemble’s Moscow headquarters.
“We all loved this ensemble,” said Moscow resident Mark Novikov. “We valued it. They are our brothers, our friends, our colleagues.”
The 186-member ensemble includes a band and a dancing troupe along with the choir that had about 70 singers. Viktor Yeliseyev, head of the rival choir of the Russian National Guard, said most of the Alexandrov Ensemble’s singers were on the plane. (read more)
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(Via Sputnik) […] Among 92 people on board was Dr. Elizaveta Glinka, or Dr. Lisa, a well-known charity activist who helped evacuate many children wounded during the Ukrainian conflict.
Dr. Lisa was the head of Fair Aid, a charity fund which provides support and medical assistance to terminally ill cancer patients. Since the start of the military conflict in Ukraine, she also dedicated herself to rescuing sick and injured Ukrainian children from the war zone. Representatives of the Fair Aid fund confirmed that Dr. Lisa was flying to Syria on the Russian Ministry of Defense plane to deliver humanitarian aid to a local hospital, although they added that they have no information related to the plane crash. (read more)

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