14:25, 25 December 2017

Sochi residents honour victims of plane crash

A picture of a plane. The day of mourning for the victims of the crash of the Tu-154. Sochi, December 26, 2016. Photo by Anna Gritsevich for the "Caucasian Knot"

Today, in Sochi, in the vicinity of which a plane of the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) crashed a year ago, people held a memorial event to pay tribute to the memory of the victims. The mourning event was attended by several hundred city residents.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 25, 2016, the Tu-154 of the Russian MoD left for Syria and crashed after refuelling in Sochi. There were 92 people on board, and all of them were killed in the crash. Today, the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) has reported that 156 people were recognized as victims in the case.

Despite about 400 forensic examinations already conducted, the investigation is still underway. Investigators excluded the version about an explosion on board. According to the investigation, the disaster was provoked by the fact that the plane commander lost spatial orientation.

"The city residents honoured the memory of the victims killed in the plane crash by a minute of silence. The people lit candles and put flowers in the sea," the press service for the Sochi administration reported.

On board of the aircraft, there were soldiers and officers, journalists, Elizaveta Glinka, the head of the "Fair Help" Foundation, well-known as Doctor Liza, and members of the Alexandrov Ensemble.

The temples of Sochi held mourning services to pay tribute to the memory of the victims killed in the plane crash, the "Komsomolskaya Pravda-Kuban" reports.

Sochi officials are willing to consider the initiative to build a monument to the victims.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.