YAROSLAVL, Russia — They came by the tens of thousands to mourn, from world leaders to ice hockey stars to ordinary Russians, with flowers and tears and aching hearts.
An estimated 100,000 people flocked to a memorial ceremony Saturday for the victims of the Russian plane crash that devastated a top ice hockey team.
“For the first time in my life, I had trouble entering an ice arena,” said Vyacheslav Fetisov, a former NHL star who is chairman of the Kontinental Hockey League. “It’s an inexplicable tragedy.”
Mourners including Prime Minister Vladimir Putin poured into the team’s arena to lay flowers near coffins containing remains of players and staff of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team. Many were draped in the team’s red, white and blue colors.
Wednesday’s crash of a chartered Yak-42 jet killed 43 people and was one of the sports world’s worst aviation disasters. Of the 45 people on board, 36 were Lokomotiv players, coaches and team officials and included former Avs players Karlis Skrastins and Ruslan Salei.
The crash shocked Russia and the entire hockey community, but emotions were especially raw in Yaroslavl, where the team was a source of great pride.
