The Associated Press
MOSCOW - A Russian jet carrying a top hockey team crashed Wednesday while taking off in western Russia, killing 43 people and leaving one critically injured, officials said.
The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said the Yak-42 crashed immediately after taking off from an airport near the city of Yaroslavl, on the Volga River, 240 kilometres northeast of Moscow. It said one person survived the crash with grave injuries.
The ministry said the plane was carrying 45 people, including 37 passengers and eight crew. All but two were killed in the crash.
The ministry said the plane was carrying the Lokomotiv hockey team from Yaroslavl.
The team was heading to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, where it was to play Thursday against Dynamo Minsk in the opening game of the season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The CHL is a league of several ex-Soviet countries.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has sent his transport minister to the site of the crash, 15 kilometres east of Yaroslavl.
Former NHLers on the team roster include Pavol Demitra and Ruslan Salei, and the coach is Canadian Brad McCrimmon. But it was not immediately known whether they were on board the plane.
Former Montreal Canadien Brent Sopel, who is now playing in Russia, tweeted shortly after the crash: "In shock. Prayers out to all of the KHL families."
McCrimmon, 52, is a native of Saskatchewan. He played defence for six NHL teams - Boston, Philadelphia, Calgary, Detroit, Hartford and Phoenix from 1979-80 to 1996-97.
He played 1,222 regular season games in the NHL, collecting 81 goals, 322 assists and 1,416 penalty minutes.
McCrimmon was an assistant coach with the New York Islanders, Calgary Flames, Atlanta Thrashers and Detroit Red Wings. He also served as head coach of the Western Hockey League's Saskatoon Blades.
The short- and medium-range Yak-42 has been in service since 1980 and dozens are still in service with Russian and other airlines.
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.
President Dmitry Medvedev has announced plans to take aging Soviet-built planes out of service starting next year.
Other names I recognized on the roster as ex-NHLer's were Karel Rachunek, Karlis Skrastins and Josef Vasicek,
Roster below. Not everyone likely on the plane. Hopefully many missed the flight.
57 Vitaly Anikeyenko D R 24 2005 Kiev, Ukrainian SSR
39 Mikhail Balandin D L 31 2011 Lipetsk, Russian SFSR
21 Gennady Churilov C L 24 2005 Magnitogorsk, Russian SFSR
38 Pavol Demitra C L 36 2010 Dubnica nad Váhom, Czechoslovakia
20 Robert Dietrich D L 25 2011 Ordzhonikidze, Ukrainian SSR
11 Alexander Galimov RW L 26 2004 Yaroslavl, Russian SFSR
74 Marat Kalimulin D R 23 2010 Togliatti, Russian SFSR
28 Alexander Kalyanin RW L 23 2008 Chelyabinsk, Russian SFSR
83 Andrei Kiryukhin RW L 24 2005 Yaroslavl, Russian SFSR
23 Nikita Klyukin C L 21 2005 Rybinsk, Russian SFSR
64 Ivan Krasnov F L 19 2009 Yaroslavl, Russia
1 Stefan Liv G L 30 2011 Gdynia, Poland
15 Jan Marek C R 31 2011 Jindřichův Hradec, Czechoslovakia
32 Sergei Ostapchuk LW R 21 2007 Novopolotsk, Belorussian SSR
4 Karel Rachůnek (C) D R 32 2010 Gottwaldov, Czechoslovakia
24 Ruslan Salei D L 36 2011 Minsk, Belorussian SSR
37 Karlis Skrastinš D R 37 2011 Riga, Latvian SSR
69 Pavel Snurnitsyn F L 19 2009 Yaroslavl, Russia
13 Daniil Sobchenko C L 20 2007 Kiev, Ukrainian SSR
17 Ivan Tkachenko (A) LW L 31 2001 Yaroslavl, Russian SFSR
3 Pavel Trakhanov D L 33 2011 Moscow, Russian SFSR
81 Yuri Urychev D R 20 2009 Yaroslavl, Russian SFSR
63 Josef Vasicek (A) C L 30 2008 Havlíčkův Brod, Czechoslovakia
18 Alexander Vasyunov LW R 23 2011 Yaroslavl, Russian SFSR
35 Alexander Vyukhin G L 38 2010 Sverdlovsk, Russian SFSR
72 Artem Yarchuk LW L 21 2010 Yaroslavl, Russian SFSR
61 Maxim Zyuzyakin F R 20 2008 Novokuznetsk, Russian SFSR
Comments
Russian jet carrying hockey team crashes, 43 dead
The Associated Press
MOSCOW - A Russian jet carrying a top hockey team crashed Wednesday while taking off in western Russia, killing 43 people and leaving one critically injured, officials said.
The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said the Yak-42 crashed immediately after taking off from an airport near the city of Yaroslavl, on the Volga River, 240 kilometres northeast of Moscow. It said one person survived the crash with grave injuries.
The ministry said the plane was carrying 45 people, including 37 passengers and eight crew. All but two were killed in the crash.
The ministry said the plane was carrying the Lokomotiv hockey team from Yaroslavl.
The team was heading to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, where it was to play Thursday against Dynamo Minsk in the opening game of the season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The CHL is a league of several ex-Soviet countries.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has sent his transport minister to the site of the crash, 15 kilometres east of Yaroslavl.
Former NHLers on the team roster include Pavol Demitra and Ruslan Salei, and the coach is Canadian Brad McCrimmon. But it was not immediately known whether they were on board the plane.
Former Montreal Canadien Brent Sopel, who is now playing in Russia, tweeted shortly after the crash: "In shock. Prayers out to all of the KHL families."
McCrimmon, 52, is a native of Saskatchewan. He played defence for six NHL teams - Boston, Philadelphia, Calgary, Detroit, Hartford and Phoenix from 1979-80 to 1996-97.
He played 1,222 regular season games in the NHL, collecting 81 goals, 322 assists and 1,416 penalty minutes.
McCrimmon was an assistant coach with the New York Islanders, Calgary Flames, Atlanta Thrashers and Detroit Red Wings. He also served as head coach of the Western Hockey League's Saskatoon Blades.
The short- and medium-range Yak-42 has been in service since 1980 and dozens are still in service with Russian and other airlines.
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.
President Dmitry Medvedev has announced plans to take aging Soviet-built planes out of service starting next year.
Other names I recognized on the roster as ex-NHLer's were Karel Rachunek, Karlis Skrastins and Josef Vasicek,
Roster below. Not everyone likely on the plane. Hopefully many missed the flight.
57 Vitaly Anikeyenko D R 24 2005 Kiev, Ukrainian SSR
39 Mikhail Balandin D L 31 2011 Lipetsk, Russian SFSR
21 Gennady Churilov C L 24 2005 Magnitogorsk, Russian SFSR
38 Pavol Demitra C L 36 2010 Dubnica nad Váhom, Czechoslovakia
20 Robert Dietrich D L 25 2011 Ordzhonikidze, Ukrainian SSR
11 Alexander Galimov RW L 26 2004 Yaroslavl, Russian SFSR
74 Marat Kalimulin D R 23 2010 Togliatti, Russian SFSR
28 Alexander Kalyanin RW L 23 2008 Chelyabinsk, Russian SFSR
83 Andrei Kiryukhin RW L 24 2005 Yaroslavl, Russian SFSR
23 Nikita Klyukin C L 21 2005 Rybinsk, Russian SFSR
64 Ivan Krasnov F L 19 2009 Yaroslavl, Russia
1 Stefan Liv G L 30 2011 Gdynia, Poland
15 Jan Marek C R 31 2011 Jindřichův Hradec, Czechoslovakia
32 Sergei Ostapchuk LW R 21 2007 Novopolotsk, Belorussian SSR
4 Karel Rachůnek (C) D R 32 2010 Gottwaldov, Czechoslovakia
24 Ruslan Salei D L 36 2011 Minsk, Belorussian SSR
37 Karlis Skrastinš D R 37 2011 Riga, Latvian SSR
69 Pavel Snurnitsyn F L 19 2009 Yaroslavl, Russia
13 Daniil Sobchenko C L 20 2007 Kiev, Ukrainian SSR
17 Ivan Tkachenko (A) LW L 31 2001 Yaroslavl, Russian SFSR
3 Pavel Trakhanov D L 33 2011 Moscow, Russian SFSR
81 Yuri Urychev D R 20 2009 Yaroslavl, Russian SFSR
63 Josef Vasicek (A) C L 30 2008 Havlíčkův Brod, Czechoslovakia
18 Alexander Vasyunov LW R 23 2011 Yaroslavl, Russian SFSR
35 Alexander Vyukhin G L 38 2010 Sverdlovsk, Russian SFSR
72 Artem Yarchuk LW L 21 2010 Yaroslavl, Russian SFSR
61 Maxim Zyuzyakin F R 20 2008 Novokuznetsk, Russian SFSR