Russian plane crashes with 92 on board, wreckage in Black Sea, Defense Ministry says

(CNN) — A Russian military plane reported missing Sunday with 92 people aboard has crashed, leaving a trail of plane wreckage in the Black Sea near Sochi, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

A Tupolev Tu-154 plane that was carrying 84 passengers and eight crew members disappeared from radar Sunday morning local time after taking off from the Adler airport near the Black Sea city, state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.

The plane, which first took off from Moscow, was headed to the Russian Hmeymim airbase in Latakia, Syria, where the country has a large military presence, for a concert ahead of New Year’s Eve, a source told Russia’s state news agency Tass.

Before arriving in Latakia, the plane landed in Sochi to refuel, the Defence Ministry’s press service told Russia’s Interfax news agency.

According to RIA Novosti, the Defense Ministry said it found debris from the missing Tu-154 in the Black Sea one mile from Sochi.

CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam said no major weather patterns were present at the time of the plane’s disappearance.

Members of the renowned Alexandrov Ensemble, the Russian army’s official choir,were on board the plane, a source told Russia’s Interfax News Agency.

In addition to choir members, nine journalists — including three reporters with Star TV — and other military members were on board as well, according to a statement from the Defense Ministry’s official television network.

Tass has reported that, according to the Defense Ministry, “all search and rescue services of aviation units on the Southern Military District in Krasnodar and neighboring regions are engaged in aircraft search.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been informed that a Tu-154 plane disappeared from radar after taking off from Sochi, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Tass.

“The President has been informed that the plane disappeared from radars”, Peskov said. “Putin gets information from emergencies services conducting the search effort.”

CNN’s Julia Jones in Atlanta, Mansur Mirovalev in Moscow and Sarah Sirgany in Abu Dhabi contributed to this report.

This story was originally published on CNN.com “Russian plane crashes with 92 on board, wreckage in Black Sea, Defense Ministry says.”