Survivor of plane crash in western Russia dies in hospital

Survivor of plane crash in western Russia dies in hospital

2011-09-12 15:30:55 GMT+7 (ICT)

MOSCOW (BNO NEWS) -- One of the only two people who survived a plane crash in western Russia last week died at a hospital in Moscow on early Monday morning, officials said. The other survivor remains in a critical condition.

The Yak-Service Airlines plane, with 37 passengers and 8 crew members on board, crashed on Wednesday as it was attempting to take off from Tunoshna Airport in Yaroslavl Oblast, which is about 250 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of Moscow. It was carrying members of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team.

A brief statement released by the Vishnevsky Institute of Surgery in Moscow confirmed side player Alexander Galimov had passed away on early Monday morning. "Despite ongoing therapy with the use of all possible treatment in the burn center of the Vishnevsky Institute of Surgery, Alexander Galimov died from severe burns," the statement said.

Earlier, Institute Director Valery Kubyshkin said Galimov had suffered severe burns covering about 90 percent of his body. "Throughout the day his condition has been relatively stable. It gives me hope," he said on Friday.

Meanwhile, flight attendant Alexander Sizov, who was able to walk away from the plane wreckage, remains in a critical but stable condition at another hospital in Moscow. Doctors on Monday said his condition had slightly improved and Sizov is no longer in a life-threatening condition.

On Saturday, the bodies of fourteen members of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team were buried in the city of Yaroslavl. The funerals took place after a memorial ceremony at the sport complex Arena-2000, where fans, friends and family gathered to say farewell to the victims of the deadly crash.

The Yak-42 aircraft was carrying the Lokomotiv Yaroslavi ice hockey team to the Belarusian capital of Minsk to play a game, and International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel called the crash "the darkest day in the history of our sport."

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