(VOVworld) – A rescue team found fragments of the Tu-154 plane, which the Russian Defence Ministry said had disappeared from radar shortly after takeoff from the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

The plane was carrying Russian servicemen who were being flown into Russia’s Hmeymim air base in Syria to entertain military personnel in the run-up to the new year. The plane was carrying 84 passengers and eight crew members. The ministry said rescue teams found fragments of the plane at a distance of about 1.5 kilometres (less than a mile) from shore, at a depth of 50-70 metres. According to the Interfax, the plane crashed without any warning signals from the crew.