ROSTOV-ON-DON. Dec 27 (Interfax) - A total of 419 employees of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry, including 74 underwater divers, are working at the scene of the Russian Defense Ministry's Tupolev Tu-154 crash in the Black Sea, the ministry's Southern Regional Center told Interfax on Tuesday.
"The Emergency Situations Ministry's team in the search area included 419 people and 74 units of equipment as of 3:00 p.m. Moscow time. Two helicopters flew two flights today. Emergency Situations Ministry helicopters have flown a total of 12 flights. There are also 16 vessels of the Emergency Situations Ministry in the search area," it said.
The Emergency Situations Ministry team includes 74 underwater divers, who have carried out 104 descents, including 32 on Tuesday alone, it said.
The Defense Ministry Tupolev Tu-154B-2 plane disappeared from the radars several minutes after taking off in Sochi on Sunday morning. According to the most recent information, the plane was carrying 92 people, including servicemen, journalists, the Alexandrov song and dance ensemble and Yelizaveta Glinka, the head of the foundation Fair Aid. They were en route to Syria.
The airliner crashed into the Black Sea near the coast of Sochi. A criminal case has been opened.