More than 60 members of the internationally-renowned Red Army Choir were on board a Russian military plane that crashed in the Black Sea on Sunday, Russia’s defence ministry said.

A list of passengers and crew published by the ministry showed that 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, the army’s official musical group, and its conductor Valery Khalilov were on board the Tu-154 travelling to Syria to celebrate the New Year with Russian troops.

No sign of survivors’ at Russian plane crash site

President Vladimir Putin has ordered the government to probe the crash of a Syria-bound military plane carrying 92 people including more than 60 Red Army Choir members, the Kremlin said Sunday.

“Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to form and head a state commission to investigative the crash of the Tu-154 plane in Sochi,” the Kremlin said in a statement, adding that Putin expressed his deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims of the crash.