plane crash kills 36 ice hockey players of one of the best sides in Russia.

[Duppy Conqueror 1,494]

they just announced it on SSN.

i didn`t catch the name of the side but they were 3rd best team in Russia last season on their way to play in a big club tournament.

only 1 survived..i don`t know if i`d class that person lucky or not..he must be going through hell now.

[Duppy Conqueror 1,494]

update: they sayimg 43 dead 2 survivors now.

R.I.P

[SinineUltra 1,170]

RIP

[zolayes 14,489]

Aeroflot has a terrible safety record. Worry about the World Cup and internal flights

[BluesChick 1,260]

how very sad!! I have heard Aeroflot is awful on safety... hopefully something good comes out of the tragedy! My prayers and thoughts are with all of the families

[xPetrCechx 13,563]

:(:(:(

[Kieran. 6,317]

Tragedy. RIP.

[Tomo 21,733]

R.I.P

Do they have any idea how the plane went down?

[King11Didier 916]

Russian Plane Crash: Jet Carrying Lokomotiv Hockey Team Crashes, Dozens Dead

TUNOSHNA, Russia — A Russian jet carrying a top ice hockey team crashed while taking off Wednesday in western Russia, killing at least 43 people and leaving two critically injured, officials said.

The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said the Yak-42 plane crashed immediately after leaving an airport near the city of Yaroslavl, on the Volga River about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Moscow. It was carrying 45 people, including 37 passengers and eight crew, and the ministry said all but two people were killed in the crash.

The weather was sunny and clear at the time.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin immediately sent the nation's transport minister to the site, 10 miles (15 kilometers) east of Yaroslavl.

The ministry said the plane was carrying the Lokomotiv ice hockey team from Yaroslavl to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, where it was to play Thursday against Dinamo Minsk in the opening game of the season in the Kontinental Hockey League.

The KHL is an international club league that pits together teams from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Slovakia.

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl is a leading force in Russian hockey and came third in the KHL last year. It's coached by Canadian Brad McCrimmon and includes several international stars in its ranks, such as Stefan Liv of Sweden and Czech Republic players Josef Vaicek and Jan Marek. Lokomotiv was a three-time Russian League champion in 1997, 2002 and 2003 and took the bronze last season.

It wasn't immediately clear which players were on board the Yak-42 on Wednesday.

"We will do our best to ensure that hockey in Yaroslavl does not die, and that it continues to live for the people that were on that plane," said Russian Ice Hockey Federation President Vladislav Tretyak.

The short- and medium-range Yak-42 has been in service since 1980 and dozens are still in service with Russian and other airlines.

President Dmitry Medvedev has announced plans to take aging Soviet-built planes out of service starting next year.

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.

RIP. :(

[TrueChelseaBlue 105]

Terrible R.I.P

[Randall 315]

RIP.

[HRiver 1,512]

RIP

[Jusek 2,031]

I'm a huge hockey fan and this is just terrible. I'm still confused and can't believe what happened.

R.I.P.

[Melanicus 5,208]

I'm also hockey fan and that's a big lose for hockey! R.I.P. and thanks for all you brought in this wonderful sport!

[Grillinnap 129]

OMG. Pavol Demitra was on that plane. He played for my team the Los Angeles Kings. Really sad. RIP Lokomotiv Yaroslavi players and staff.

[Milan 17,861]

Three Czechs were on it as well, including the best goal-scorer of that league - Jan Marek. In July Marek became a father of his son and due to the long distance he hardly saw his own baby. In a few weeks his wife with the child were supposed to travel to Russia. This is just so sad. My thoughts are with all those families.

RIP

[Milan 17,861]

Just seen news on our telly and honestly, I'm crying. A horrific tragedy.

[Fulham Broadway 16,933]

Awful

Russian aviation is basically a load of small, low-budget airlines, under-trained pilots, weak government regulation and a cost-cutting mentality in which pilots who abort flights and landings are sometimes fined.

Russia and the other former Soviet republics have the world's worst air traffic safety , with an accident rate 13 times the world average, according to the International Air Transport Association.