Hockey team on crashed Russian plane, 36 dead

[chicot60]

REUTERS


MOSCOW — A passenger plane carrying a Russian ice hockey team crashed shortly after takeoff near the city of Yaroslavl on Wednesday, killing 36 of the 37 people on board, officials and news agencies said.

The Yak-42 aircraft was headed from the city north of Moscow to Minsk in Belarus when it crashed, an official at state aviation agency Rosaviatsia said. The official said 36 people were killed and one was injured.

The plane was carrying members of a Continental Hockey League (KHL) hockey team based in Yaroslavl, Lokomotiv, to a match in Minsk, Belarus, state-run RIA news agency cited a regional Emergency Situations Ministry official as saying.

Several former NHL players were on the team's roster, including Pavol Demitra, who played for the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks, Karel Rachunek, who played for the Senators, and Ruslan Salei, who played for the Detroit Red Wings.

The team's coach, Brad McCrimmon of Plenty, Sask., is a former Calgary Flame who won the Stanley Cup with the team in 1989.

Interfax cited a security official as saying the plane caught fire after the crash near the airport.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered Transport Minister Igor Levitin to travel to the site.

The crash occurred while Russia was hosting an international political forum in Yaroslavl that President Dmitry Medvedev was expected to address this week.



Read more:
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Russian+plane+crashes+reported+dead/5363841/story.html#ixzz1XHHEx2NS

[chicot60]

Russian jet carrying hockey team crashes, 43 dead
By LYNN BERRY, Associated Press – 1 hour ago
TUNOSHNA, Russia (AP) — Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry says at least 43 people have died in the crash of a Russian jet carrying a top ice hockey team.
The ministry said the plane was carrying 45 people, including 37 passengers and eight crew. The ministry said all but two people were killed in the crash.
The ministry said the Yak-42 plane crashed immediately after takeoff from an airport near the city of Yaroslavl, on the Volga River about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Moscow.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
YAROSLAVL, Russia (AP) — A Russian jet carrying a top ice hockey team crashed while taking off Wednesday in western Russia, killing at least 36 people and leaving one critically injured, officials said.
The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said the Yak-42 plane crashed immediately after leaving an airport near the city of Yaroslavl, on the Volga River about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Moscow. It said one person survived the crash with grave injuries.
The weather was sunny and clear at the time.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin immediately sent the nation's transport minister to the site, 10 miles (15 kilometers) east of Yaroslavl.
The ministry said the plane was carrying the Lokomotiv ice hockey team from Yaroslavl. The team was heading to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, where it was to play Thursday against Dinamo Minsk in the opening game of the season of the Kontinental Hockey League.
The KHL is an international club league that pits together teams from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Slovakia.
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl is a leading force in Russian hockey and came third in the KHL last year. It's coached by Canadian Brad McCrimmon and includes several international stars in its ranks, such as Stefan Liv of Sweden and Czech Republic players Josef Vaicek and Jan Marek.
It wasn't immediately clear which players were on board the Yak-42 on Wednesday.
Lokomotiv was a three-time Russian League champion in 1997, 2002-2003. It took bronze last season.
The short- and medium-range Yak-42 has been in service since 1980 and dozens are still in service with Russian and other airlines.
President Dmitry Medvedev has announced plans to take aging Soviet-built planes out of service starting next year.
In June, another Russian passenger jet crashed in the northwestern city of Petrozavodsk, killing 47 people. The crash of that Tu-134 plane has been blamed on pilot error.

[whiteheather]

Another sad day for the Hockey world, this is sure a bad year for us all, another ex Canuck passes on, also other ex NHL players. hopefully this will be the last we hear of a hockey player or personel passing away this year. on behalf of all of us here, our thought and symathies to the families. may they all rest in everlasting peace.............................W/H