[Minnie]

From the BBC -

Several" athletes, coaches and family members involved with US Figure Skating were on the flight, the sport's US governing body said in a statement.

Russian citizens were also on board, the Kremlin confirmed - after local media reported that ice skating coaches and former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were on the plane.

The statement from US Figure Skating confirmed that "several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342".

The group were returning home from a development camp in Wichita, Kansas, the statement added.

Wichita hosted the US National Figure Skating championships from 20 January to 26 January. Following the competition, there was a development camp for young skaters.

Without specifying names, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the "sad information" that Russian citizens were on the flight - following Russian news agency reports that named Shishkova and Naumov.

The married couple are retired Russian pairs skaters who won the world championships in 1994. They also competed at the Olympics. They now work as coaches in the US.

Inna Volyanskaya, a former skater who competed for the pre-1991 Soviet Union, was also reported to have been on board the plane, TASS said. She was a coach at the Washington figure skating club, according to its website.