26 December 2016, 06:05 GMT
SOCHI (Sputnik) – The Russian Defense Ministry hopes to locate its Tu-154 aircraft in the Black Sea later on Monday, the Aerospace Forces commander said.
"I think today is the day when we will be able to locate the plane at the bottom of the Black Sea," Col. Gen. Viktor Bondarev said.
Bondarev expressed confidence that flight data recorders would be recovered from the aircraft's vertical stabilizer, stressing that it is the least affected part of the plane.
The Tu-154 was flying from Moscow to the Syrian province of Latakia after stopping in Sochi for refueling.
All 92 people on board, including military personnel, reporters and members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, the official choir of the Russian army, are feared dead.
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