At least 44 people were killed on Wednesday when a Russian jet carrying hockey players to their first match of the season crashed on the takeoff.
The Yak-42 passenger jet took off from Yaroslavi airport about 3000 kms north east of Moscow just as a two-day political forum expected to be attended by President Dmitry Medvedev got under way.
A source told the Interfax that the plane suddenly start listing to the left and crashed about 500 metres away from the Tunoshna airport.
A police official told the news reporter that according to the latest data, there were 45 people on board consisting of 37 passengers and 8 crew members. Forty four people died in the crash and one person survived.
The local emergencies said the jet was taking members of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavi ice hockey team to the Beralus capital Minsk for their first match of the 2011-12 season.
The team was trained by a Canadian national and has several foreign players on the roster posted on its website.
Two accidents involving Tu-134 and An-24 jets this summer that killed a total 54 people prompted Medvedev to call for most of the aircraft to be retired by January 1 and the rest taken out in subsequent months.
This was followed by a series of smaller air accidents as well as Volga River boat disaster that killed 122 people who were taking a pleasure cruise.
The accidents have tarnished Medevdev's vision of a modern Russia that he promotes in messages ahead of presidential elections next year that can be also contested by Vladimir Putin.
News Reported by AR for newvision
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