PackerMike 6 Posted September 7, 2011 Moscow (CNN) -- A plane carrying a hockey team with international players, including some NHL veterans, crashed as it took off Wednesday afternoon from Russia's Yaroslavl airport, killing at least 43 people, Russian emergency officials said. The Yak-42 aircraft was taking players for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl -- one of Russia's leading ice hockey teams -- to Minsk, the Belarusian capital, the Russian aviation authority told CNN. Two of the 45 people aboard the plane, which included eight crew members, survived, a Russian Emergency Situations Ministry representative said. Eleven of those on the aircraft were foreigners, the ministry said. Yaroslavl's regional governor, Sergei Vakhrukov, named the two survivors as Russian forward Alexander Galimov and flight crew member Alexander Sizov. Both are being treated in intensive care. The team's head coach, Brad McCrimmon, 52, who was born in Canada, previously played in the NHL and was an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings, NHL.com said. Others who played in the NHL included Karel Rachunek, 32, a Czech native; Ruslan Salei, 36, from Belarus; Karlis Skrastins, 37, from Latvia; Pavol Demitra, 36, from Slovakia; and Josef Vasicek, 30, from the Czech Republic. Demitra was a former Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks center, RIA Novosti reported, while fellow center Vasicek was formerly with the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes. Salei previously played for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Colorado Avalanche and the Red Wings. This hurts. It really does. Being half Czech, I grew up watching some of these players including Vasicek, Rachunek, and Marek. A Slovakian legend in Pavol Demitra is gone. A member of my Red Wings last year, Ruslan Salei, gone. Karlis Skrastins, a standout on the Latvian team, gone, along with many others on the plane. RIP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
funnygunny 521 Posted September 8, 2011 Wow, know most of these NHL players. Unbelievable. RIP. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KeVo 176 Posted September 8, 2011 This is very unfortunate to hear. May each RIP. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FIDDYDEUCE 81 Posted September 8, 2011 This is terrible. I'm surprised that the 2 that did survive made it out of there alive. Truly tragic. RIP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigBen07 285 Posted September 11, 2011 (edited) RIP to all, and my condolences to their families. Terrible news... Edited September 11, 2011 by BigBen07 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oochymp 2,393 Posted September 13, 2011 MOSCOW -- The only member of a top Russian hockey team to survive a plane crash that killed 44 people died Monday of his injuries in a Moscow hospital.The Vishnevsky hospital said 26-year-old Alexander Galimov died of the severe burns that covered about 90 percent of his body, despite the best efforts of doctors in its burn unit, considered one of the best in Russia. http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/6960576/alexander-galimov-only-player-survive-russian-plane-crash-dies Words escape me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigBen07 285 Posted September 14, 2011 Words escape me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
