Russian plane crash: Surprised to see his name on the list of fatalities

A musician in Russia's Alexander military band was surprised to find his name on the list of those killed in yesterday's Tu-154 plane crash in the Black Sea, even though he did not board the plane due to an expired passport.

Singer Roman Valutov was lucky to escape death because he did not board the plane due to an expired passport. (Photo: TASS)

A Russian Defense Ministry Tu-154 plane crashed into the Black Sea just minutes after taking off from Sochi this morning. All 92 people on board, including more than 60 suspected members of the Alexander band, were killed.

The identities of the victims have been released. However, Roman Valutov, 29, a member of Alexander, was surprised to see his name on the list of the dead. In fact, Valutov was not able to board the ill-fated Tu-154 because his passport had expired.

“I went to the immigration gate and was turned away because my passport had expired in July. I didn’t realize that. The lady told me to wait a little longer. I was anxiously waiting to see if I could board a flight, but a few minutes later she told me I couldn’t take any flights. I was very worried about the passport incident, but decided to return home,” Valutov said.

“I was there until 3:30 a.m., then people started calling to ask if I had survived. I checked the list of the dead and saw my name on it. Honestly, I burst into tears. My friends and family were shocked,” he added.

Along with Valutov, another member of the Alexander band was lucky to survive, Vadim Ananiev - who canceled the trip on the pretext of taking leave because his wife gave birth.

The Russian Defense Ministry Tu-154 disappeared from radar screens early on December 25, just minutes after taking off from the airport in the port city of Sochi (Russia). The plane took off from Moscow and landed in Sochi to refuel on its way to take servicemen, journalists and a military band to a Christmas performance at the Russian air base in Latakia, Syria.

The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed late yesterday, December 25, that no survivors were found in the area where the plane crashed. The passengers on the plane were mainly members of the Alexandrov military band, however, the specific statistics, some sources say 64 band members, some sources say 68 band members.

Many theories have been put forward about the cause of the accident, including bird strikes, technical problems or pilot error, although a terrorist attack has not been ruled out. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the establishment of an investigation commission to clarify the incident.

According to Dan Tri