MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Russian Defense Ministry's Tu-154 plane heading from Moscow to Syria crashed shortly after refueling and take-off from the Russian southern city of Adler, near Sochi.
The plane was carrying 92 people, including eight crew members, 64 musicians of the Alexandrov Ensemble, nine reporters, head of Spravedlivaya Pomoshch (Fair Aid) charity Elizaveta Glinka, and two federal civil servants.
"All rumors published by Lifenews about the allegedly established causes of the Tu-154 crash in Sochi is absolute nonsense and the publication's fiction," Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said.
He said the investigation into the crash that led to the deaths of 92 people was still ongoing.
"We consider it unacceptable and immoral to attempt… to assign unsubstantiated blame on someone and invent certain 'conclusions' ahead of the investigation's completion," Konashenkov stressed.
