Putin Orders Russian PM to Create Commission on Probe Into Tu-154 Crash

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to set up a commission to investigate the Tu-154 aircraft crash in the Black Sea, the Kremlin’s press service said Sunday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, a Russian Defense Ministry Tu-154 plane heading from Moscow to Syria with 92 people on board disappeared from radar shortly after refueling and take-off from the Black Sea resort city of Sochi. Fragments of the plane were discovered off the shore of Sochi. The musicians from the Alexandrov Ensemble, the famous army choir of the Russian armed forces, and nine journalists were on board of the aircraft that was en route to Hmeymim airbase in Syria for a New Year concert.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to form a state commission on the investigation of the Tu-154 plane crash in Sochi," the press service said in a statement.

The president also expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the plane crash victims, according to the press service.