Russia finds first flight recorder from Black Sea crash jet

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The recorder, one of several reported to be on board, contains information which could help investigators identify the cause of the crash.

It will be sent to a Defence Ministry facility in Moscow for analysis, the ministry was cited as saying.

Flowers in memory of passengers and crew members of Russian military Tu-154, which crashed into the Black Sea on its way to Syria on Sunday, are placed at an embankment in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, Russia, December 26, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Investigators have so far said that pilot error or a technical fault were likely to have caused the Defence Ministry TU-154 to crash into the sea.

The plane was carrying dozens of Red Army Choir singers and dancers to Syria to entertain Russian troops in the run-up to the New Year, as well as other passengers.

The Defence Ministry said search and rescue teams have so far recovered 12 bodies and 156 body fragments, news agencies reported.

The Interfax news agency, citing a law enforcement source, said a second flight recorder had also been found in the wreckage, but not yet raised to the surface.