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| The Yak-42 jet crashed just after takeoff from Yaroslavl |
A passenger
airplane carrying a major Russian ice hockey team has crashed shortly after
takeoff killing nearly everyone on board, according to local news agencies. The
crash took place in Yaroslavl, in western Russia.
A Russian
plane crashed shortly after takeoff on Wednesday, killing nearly everyone on
board, according to officials and Russian news agencies.
The Yak-42
aircraft was headed from the city of Yaroslavl, 240 kilometers (149 miles)
north of Moscow, to Minsk in Belarus when it crashed. At least 43 people were
killed, according to an official from state aviation agency Rosaviatsia.
Officials said Russian ice hockey player Alexander Galimov survived the crash
along with a crew member.
The plane
was carrying members of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team, who were due
to play a match against Dinamo Minsk on Thursday in the opening game of the
season of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
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| Many of the passengers were members of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team |
Lokomotiv
are a leading force in Russian ice hockey and came third in the KHL last year.
Although all the victims have not been named, one player on the plane was
German national ice hockey player Robert Dietrich. The 25-year-old transferred
to the Russian side in June.
Lokomotiv's
roster also includes Czech national players Karel Ranuchek, Jan Marek and Josef
Vasicek, Slovakia's Pavol Demitra and Swedish goalkeeper Stefan Liv. The head
coach, Canadian Brad McCrimmon, was also on the plane, according to the KHL.
Political
response
Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin immediately ordered Transport Minister Igor Levitin to
travel to the site.
The crash
occurred while Russia was hosting an international political forum in
Yaroslavl, which President Dimitry Medvedev was expected to address on
Thursday. Medvedev's spokeswoman said the president expressed his condolences
and would alter his plans for the forum and visit the site of the crash.
The short
and medium-range Yak-42 has been in service since 1980 and dozens are still in
use by Russian and other airlines. Medvedev has announced plans to take aging
Soviet-built planes out of service staring next year. The model that crashed
was built in 1993 and belonged to a small Moscow-based Yak Service company.
In June,
another Russian passenger jet crashed in the northwestern city of Petrozavodsk,
killing 47 people.
Author:
Catherine Bolsover (AP, Reuters)
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