The Russian Defense Ministry says debris from a missing military plane with 92 people on board has been found in the Black Sea.

The Tu-154 aircraft disappeared from radar just minutes after taking off from the Black Sea resort town of Sochi at 5:40 a.m. local time (0240 UTC). The aircraft was headed to an airbase in Syria.

A search and rescue operation is underway. 

The Soviet-designed three-engine airliner was conducting a routine flight to Russia’s Hmeimim airbase outside the coastal Syrian city of Latakia, according to the Defense Department.

The plane was carrying 84 passengers and eight crew members, including Russian servicemen as well as members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, the army’s official musical group, who were flying to Syria to participate in New Year’s celebrations at the base, the ministry said. Nine members of the media were also on board.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies that President Vladimir Putin had been informed of the situation and of the search operations.
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