Sole Survivor of Russian Hockey Team in Plane Crash Dies

One member of flight crew still hanging on

One of two survivors of the plane crash that stunned the hockey world has died in a hospital, Russian officials said.

Alexander Galimov, 26, was the only member of the KHL team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl who survived the Sept. 7 crash. Forty-four of the 45 passengers aboard the Yak-42 plane, which caught fire shortly after takeoff from the central Russian city Yaroslavl and crashed into a riverbank. Both Galimov and crew member Alexander Sizov had been in medically-induced comas as a Moscow hospital since the crash.

“On September 12, in the morning, despite continuing therapy using all possible contemporary treatment, Alexander Galimov died from severe burns in the burn center of the Vishnevsky Institute of Surgery,” a statement from the International Ice Hockey Federation said.

The plane was carrying the team to Minsk for a game. Lokomotiv Yaroslavl's roster included several former NHL players who perished in the crash. Pavol Demitra, 36, a perennial all-star and former member of the St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Wild, was one notable member of the team.

Galimov played parts of seven seasons for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, including seasons before the team joined the KHL. He was known for clutch play in the league's playoffs, scoring 14 points in 18 postseason contests last season. Galimov won a silver medal with Russian’s under-20 team at the 2005 World Junior Hockey Championships.

According to NBC Sports, Galimov scored Lokomotiv’s last goal.

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