BREAKING: Russian military aircraft disappears from radar

A Russian military plane has disappeared from radar just minutes after take-off from the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

The defence ministry said its Tu-154 aircraft had 91 people onboard, including service personnel, a military music band and reporters.

The plane disappeared from radar 20 minutes after taking off from Sochi’s Adler airport at 05:20 (02:20 GMT).

Unconfirmed reports said it was flying to Syria’s Latakia province.

The aircraft went missing as it was manoeuvring over Russia’s territorial waters, a source at the emergency ministry was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

A search operation was now under way, Russia’s state-run Rossiya24 TV channel said.

More details will follow…

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