Photo courtesy of SovSport
In what’s become a summer of tragic human loss, news outlets have caught onto the latest story in which a chartered plane carrying the KHL’s Yaroslavl Lokomotiv hockey team crashed on the Volga River northeast of Moscow.
According to CTV news bulletin, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry says a passenger jet carrying a local hockey team has crashed while taking off in western Russia, killing 36 people. It says at least one person has survived but is injured.
Yahoo! Sports’ Dmitri Chesnokov added some clarity through translation Tweeting (@dchesnokov), SovSport is reporting that the lone survivor (at this point) is a crew member. No news about any survivors from #Lokomotiv.
And…
The plane carrying Lokomotiv crashed only 2km from the runway; caught fire, broke off in two.
Among those on board were three players with Ottawa Senators connections – Karel Rachunek, Pavol Demitra and Vitaly Anikeyenko (drafted 70th overall, 2005). Former Red Wings assistant coach Brad McCrimmon was also on the plane. If you’ll remember, Paul MacLean’s former colleague left the Red Wings during the summer to pursue a head coaching position.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, friends and members of the hockey community who were affected by this tragedy.
Update:
Matt Keator, Pavol Demitra’s agent, has confirmed to the Globe and Mail that Demitra was one of the players killed in the crash.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
