The main identification procedures of those who perished in Tupolev Tu-154 plane crash near Sochi will be based on mandatory DNA tests of the remains, Russian Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov told TASS news conference on Dec. 29.
"In the forefront we now have the work to identify the bodies and carry out DNA tests of body fragments. To my regret I have to say that the main identification procedures will have to be carried out on the basis of mandatory DNA tests," said Sokolov, who leads inquiry into the disaster.
Major search effort in Black Sea waters after Tu-154 crash completed
With the Defense Ministry’s assistance, he said, medics had already collected the required genetic materials from the victims’ relatives and tests were already underway.
The Tupolev Tu-154 crashed early in the morning on Dec. 25 shortly after leaving Adler airport. There were 92 people on board: military servicemen, TV camera crews, human rights activist and medical worker Yelizaveta Glinka and a large group of performing artists from the Russian army’s Aleksandrov song and dance company, who had been expected to perform in front of the Russian aerospace group’s personnel at the Syrian air base Khmeymim on New Year’s Eve.