A mournful crowd filled the hockey arena in the Russian city of Yaroslavl Saturday to pay their last respects to the local team who perished in a plane crash that killed 43 people this week. Three-time Russian champions Lokomotiv were leaving the local airport about 300 kilometres (185 miles) north of Moscow Wednesday when their Yak-42 plane failed to gain altitude after take-off and went down in a small river killing almost everyone on board.
An endless stream of people flowed into Lokomotiv’s home arena in Yaroslavl, laying flowers along the row of coffins set up on the rink with the player’s photos. The square in front of the arena was completely full of people waiting patiently under umbrellas in the rain to get inside. Athletes from other Russian teams, hockey officials, and thousands of fans were sitting in the spectator seats and wiping away tears during the hours-long ceremony.
Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also paid his respects, laying red carnations next to each coffin, Russian channels showed.
Lokomotiv’s Kontinental Hockey League set up a live stream from the ceremony with two commentators reading the players’ biographies and achievements in shaky voices to the backdrop of sombre music. A total of about 35,000 people came to the arena Saturday, forcing organisers to extend the ceremony by over an hour, KHL commentators said.
