A plane crash in Central Russia took the lives of at least 43 people, The Associated Press reports. The majority of victims were members of the local hockey team, Lokomotiv, of the KHL.
The plane went down shortly after taking to the air between 500 and 1,000 meters (1,640 – 3,280 feet) from the runway, according to multiple reports, including RT.com and TSN.ca.
The Yak-42 was on its way to the Belarusian capital Minsk. Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry says at least 43 people have died in the crash. Of the 45 people, 37 were passengers and eight crew. The ministry said all but two people were killed in the crash.
Of the 26 players on the Lokomotiv roster, all but five are Russian born. One Lokomotiv official tells Sovetsky Sport that "everyone from the main roster was on the plane [plus] four players from the youth team."
As for NHL ties, NHL.com reports that the team's head coach, Brad McCrimmon, defensemen Karel Rachunek, Ruslan Salei and Karlis Skrastins, as well as forwards Pavol Demitra, Josef Vasicek and Alexander Vasyunov were all on board. Each person spent time in the NHL before joining Lokomotiv.
