Lokomotiv was a team of players from many nations and the grief is being shared throughout Europe. Many people in Russia, Belarus, Latvia, the Czech Republic and other countries remain united in their grief over the tragic victims of the Yaroslavl jet crash which took the lives of an entire ice-hockey team.

      The "Lokomotiv" included three players from the Czech Republic and two Ukrainians, as well as athletes from Belarus, Canada, Germany, Latvia, Slovakia and Sweden. The new coach was a Canadian.

      Many people came to the Slovak embassy in Moscow to lay flowers. A special mourning book has also been opened to gather the thoughts of people. People in Slovakia are mourning the death of their icon, the captain of the national team and one of its top strikers, Pavol Demitra.

      Latvia's capital witnessed a funeral march for the victims of the Yak-42 crash too. Riga is mourinfg itsfavourite hockey player Karlis Skrastins, a defender who played 11 seasons in the NHL before moving to Lokomotiv this year.

          People in Minsk, Belarus, gathered at the ice-rink where the Lokomotiv team was to face their contenders Dinamo Minsk in their opening battle of the KHL season. All tickets for the game had been sold long before the tragedy, but after the sad news about the plane's crash not a single ticket was returned, so the ceremony was held in the packed arena. All the Belarussian government members, including Aleksandr Lukashenko, were present at the ceremony. 

      The Czech consul is now heading to the scene of the tragedy in Yaroslavl. Three Czech players died in the accident – Jan Marek, Karel Rachunek and Josef Vašíček. Czech diplomatic mission in Moscow half-lowered the national flag. Hundreds gathered in the center of the Czech capital, Prague, to pay their respects to their players who died.

      Embassies of Canada and Sweden have not been alone either. People are coming to leave flowers and notes in a memory of Canadian Brad McCrimmon, the Lokomotiv coach, and Swede Stefan Liv, the national team’s goalkeeper.

      The relatives of the foreigners, who were killed in the air crash will get free visas upon arrival in Russia. They can get it at the airport in Russia, spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said. 

Source: Vesti.ru Interfax Russia Today

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