'No Explosion' On Board Crashed Russian Military Plane

MOSCOW, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Dec, 2016 ) - Russian officials probing the crash of a Syria-bound military plane said Thursday there was no explosion on board, but equipment was not functioning correctly when it plunged into the Black Sea.

The Soviet-era Tu-154 plane went down shortly after takeoff from Sochi airport on Sunday morning, killing all 92 on board, including scores of performers from a feted Red Army Choir troupe. "There was no explosion on board, I can say that for certain," said Sergei Bainetov, head of flight safety for the Russian air force.

"But an act of terror is not necessarily an explosion, so we are not discarding this version." Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said the probe had established the plane was not working normally but will not issue any conclusions before January, cautioning journalists not to jump on any theories.

"It is obvious that the equipment was functioning abnormally. Why that happened is up to experts to work out," he told reporters.