Yaroslavl, September 9 (Interfax) – The farewell ceremony for the players, coaches and administrative staff of the Lokomotiv club due to be held in Yaroslavl on Saturday will be attended by representatives from the majority of Russian ice hockey clubs and players from foreign teams, Lokomotiv spokesman Vladimir Malkov told Interfax on Friday.
"Huge numbers of athletes and club managers will arrive to bid farewell to the guys," Malkov said.
In particular, Semyon Varlamov, the Russian goaltender from the Colorado Avalanche ice hockey team, who played for the Yaroslavl-based club in 2006-2008, is planning to arrive, the spokesman said.
Another former Yaroslavl player to pay tribute to the victims is Denis Grebeshkov, an ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the KHL and a double world champion.
Other teams expected to arrive include Traktor, AkBars, Vityaz Torpedo and Severstal.
Fourteen of the victims of the Yak-42 plane crash will be buried at the Leontyevsky cemetery in Yaroslavl on Saturday. These are players, coaches and service personnel from the Lokomotiv team.
The farewell ceremony will take place at the Arena-2000 sports complex from 0830 till 1230 Moscow time. The mourning rally will be held at 1230, followed by the funerals at the Leontyevsky cemetery.
The Yakovlev Yak-42 plane carrying the Lokomotiv ice hockey team crashed during a takeoff near Yaroslavl on September 7. Only two out of the 45 people who were on board have survived.
