SOCHI, Russia — Fragments of a plane were dragged out of the Black Sea on Monday amid a massive search operation as Russian officials declared that their investigation into the crash would focus on technical faults or pilot errors — not terrorism.
On shore, the nation held a day of mourning, laying flowers and lighting candles for the victims, who included dozens of singers in Russia’s world-famous military choir, nine Russian journalists and a Russian doctor known for her charity work in war zones.
All 84 passengers and eight crew on the Russian military’s Tu-154 plane are believed to have died Sunday morning when it crashed two minutes after taking off from the southern city of Sochi en route to Syria.
On Monday, more than 3,500 people on 45 ships — including 135 divers from across Russia — were sweeping a vast crash site in the Black Sea and along the shore, according to the